Son of Hellfire (Part 1)
by Sparkflight206
Summary: He lost everything. He went back to change it all and ended up broken again. Killed by his own broken heart, he flees to another world where a dying Dragon Slayer teaches him to live a half-life. His body moves. But he needs her love to mend his soul. He must fight, like his father Atlas Flame, claws and teeth to cling to life. The rebirth of the Dragon Slayer has only just begun.
1. Dusk of Yesterday

"This world shall end, and I shall guide you into the world of the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Come Naruto, don't let your family stand in the way of what you want. It's a simple choice, a world where everything is peaceful and perfect, or this reality with it's failing ninja system."

The Ten Tails Jinchuriki, Obito Uchiha, extended his offer to one of the two hosts of the divided Nine Tails. Naruto himself was about to answer when an unbelievable pain attacked the back of his neck, where his skull joined his spine.

"Arghh! Make it stop! It burns! Please, make it stop!" Naruto cried out, clutching his neck, a bright blue glow emanating from beneath his hands. Obito flew over and knelt next to Naruto, pulling his hands away. His face quickly changed from mildly concerned to shocked to fury in the course of 5 seconds.

"SENSEI!"

He roared. His form flickered out of existence and reappeared next to Minato. The Fouth Hokage was sent flying by a backhand from Obito.

"What kind of a sick monster... Puts a Loyalty Seal ON HIS OWN SON?!"

The entirety of the Ninja Alliance was shocked silent. One by one the Five Kage turned on the Yellow Flash of the Leaf. No one was more enraged than the Fifth Kazekage.

"How. Dare. You. To think, that this whole time... My first friend was controlled by you Namikaze. Even Madara wouldn't stoop that low. I'LL KILL YOU!"

The famed 'Absolute Defence' sand lived up to the legends told about it's speed and ferocity as it shot forth and engulfed Minato, trapping his kunai inside the forming Sand Coffin.

"Naruto was never meant to befriend you Gaara. He was supposed to kill you after I got there and extracted the One Tail. You only lived because he resisted my long ranged commands and only defeated you."

"You were right, young Kazekage..."

Everyone looked up and saw Madara on the next ledge of the crater created by a rampaging Ten Tails before it was brought under control.

"... Even I would even stoop as low as to control my own son. Isn't that right, Minato?."

No one spoke.

"Truly, you are a disgrace, my son. And you wondered why I took your eyes and replaced them with your mothers. I didn't want you abusing the Sharingan.

"In any case, please continue to... How is it kids these days say it? Oh yes, continue to kick Obito's ass, if you can."

Said Ten Tails Jinchuriki blurred back to Naruto and placed his index finger against the glowing blue seal and discharged a single spark of chakra into it. An unholy looking black and purple glow replaced the blue one and the seal burned away.

On the back of his right hand, a sickly green seal glowed and Obito recognised it as a seal that transformed any active chakra being utilised by pulling it down to the seal and converting it to toxic chakra. Said chakra would make the chakra pathways in his body burn, how far beyond the seal depended on the amount of chakra transformed. And of course, it was remotely activated by the creator.

That seal too burned away, leaving the Jinchuriki of the Yin chakra of the Demon Fox, the darker half, free for the first time since half of Nine Tails was sealed into him. Obito turned to the Ninja Alliance and continued his preaching of a new world.

And for the first time, Naruto saw everything through his own eyes.

'What Obito said is true, this world is failing. But his vision for its salvation is corrupted by years of loss and solitude. I have committed terrible crimes. The fact I was controlled means nothing, I committed them so...'

Reaching into to his mindscape for something he hoped would be there. It was. He raised his hands and let his instincts tell his body what to do. His hands blurred as the seal sequence was performed.

Ram. Dog. Boar. Monkey. Dragon. Ox. Horse. Jin. Snake. Tiger.

'I must atone for my actions, and make amends!'

Bright yellow chakra with an orange tint engulfed his body. A cloak manifested around his orange and black jumpsuit that had been covered by the yellow chakra. Six yellow magatama markings appeared around the base of his neck in the black that resembled an underbelly, his hair was drawn up and stood, waving, on end with the bangs that partially framed his face extended, appearing to be horns. Black swirl designs similar to the Uzumaki clan symbol faded into existence on his shoulders and the back of his hands. Another one, yellow this time, was mirroring the seal on his stomach with a thin yellow line leading to it from his neck. Various thicker black lines extended along his body. The whisker marks on his cheeks were prominently black too now.

The giant flare of chakra receded and a Chakra Mode Naruto was standing in the place of Minato Namikaze's former slave. The whole of the Ninja Alliance felt a rush of hope as a new figurehead appeared to lead them in battle against the overwhelming force of the Akatsuki.

'Thanks for helping me Nine Tails, sorry about before. I wasn't myself.'

'Don't sweat it kit, I've been controlled too. And call me Kurama.'

'Okay. Let's do this Kurama.'

"Naruto? What happened to you?" Naruko asked.

"Kurama happened sister." Naruto said and walked up to her. He was taller than her.

"Forgive me."

That was all the warning Naruko got.

Naruto thrust his hand forward, ripping her top open, and placed his right palm against her seal on her stomach. He formed a half tiger seal with his left hand.

"Eight Trigrams Seal Release!"

The Yang half of Kurama roared as he was released. Finally, he would be whole again. The fusion of the two took less than minute. Now that he had the full power of Kurama, Naruto was definitely on Obito's radar in terms of power. The container of the original Tailed Beast, incomplete as it was, turned to him. Naruko dropped to the ground, close to death from the extraction.

"Naruto, I see you are free. And control the Nine Tails power too. Now then, what is your answer?"

"Obito, I agree that this world is doomed, the system set up by the first ninja, The Sage of Six Paths, is failing. The age of ninja is coming to a close. But you don't see the merits of the ninja order, you see only the negatives. This is why the world is doomed. As much as I desire harmony for the world, as much as I wish for a utopia, I cannot join you!"

"Then you shall not be granted a merciful death."

The Eight Tails Jinchuriki rushed to Naruto's side. "Naruto, Eighto 'n me'll join ya, let's rock this place, my bro!"

Killer Bee held out his fist and Naruto bumped his fist against it. A link was formed between their mindscapes and the two beasts met again.

"Nine Tails, finally agreed to help your Jinchuriki, you stubborn fox?'

'Knock it off, now isn't the time. I believe Naruto is the one Old Man Sage spoke of. We have to stop Mother, Gyūki!'

The Octo-Bull was shocked. After a moment he managed to choke out,

'You... Called me my name.'

'Of course I did Gyūki, it's your name just like mine is Kurama. Now let's deal with Mother!'

'Right!'

Tentacles grew out of Killer Bee's tailbone as he went into Tailed Beast State. In no time, he was in Tailed Beast State, a perfect incarnation of Gyūki, even down to foremost left horn with the tip sliced off by the Fourth Raikage.

Naruto used his enhanced agility to jump onto Bee's head in one leap. Obito glared at them and they faced off.

Bee started off by swiping with his tentacles, trying to swat Obito out of the sky. Time after time he missed. Frustrated, he began to fire off Tailed Beast Bullets. Each one missed it's target.

"RAHHH!"

'Bee, fight him defensively but don't let him hit you, he still has the near full power of Ten Tails, he's not the Tsuchikage.'

'Got it. Now let swat it.'

Naruto jumped down into Bee's hand and was hurled straight at Obito's present course, ahead of him.

They collided and Naruto gave him a powerful strike to the face. When the Ten Tails Jinchuriki flew backward, a fist of chakra was still connected with his face. Realisation that Kurama was helping him in his new state came over him as the fist drove it's passenger into the actual final form of the Ten Tails. The Shinju Tree.

When he rose, Obito was unharmed.

'How?!'

'Sorry kit, I forgot that he retains the hide of Ten Tails.'

'Then how do we hurt him?'

'I only have one idea but it's not even barely plausible at best.'

'I'll take it. What is it?'

'When I was forced to fight against Hashirama by Madara, he couldn't do lasting damage to me even with his Wood Style, which can suppress and even combat the power of Tailed Beasts, thus being one of my weaknesses. When he went into Sage Mode and used Nature Energy to augment his attacks, he severed all but one of my tails. Those took decades to regenerate let me tell you.

'My point is: maybe, just maybe, Nature Energy can harm that Obito brat.'

'And how am I supposed to use this Nature Energy?'

'I have Fox Sage Mode, but it'll take a little while to charge.'

'How long?'

'2 minutes minimum.'

'Get started, I'll try to keep him from activating his jutsu.'

Naruto retreated from the mindscape and returned to the battle, landing on one of Bee's tails which lifted him back onto his previous position.

"So, we just gotta keep this fool entertained for a few, yo? Then we can hit em hard high and low, bro?"

"That right. Let's go."

Naruto released Chakra Mode and moulded his chakra and made two half Tiger seals and crossed them, right hand vertical, left horizontal.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu."

4 clones appeared in a line, two either side of him. Each did their own seal sequence. All 5 performed their respective sequences.

Clone 1 did: Dog. Tiger. Snake. Dog. Rat. Snake.

Clone 2 did: Ram. Snake. Tiger.

Clone 3 did: Tiger. Snake. Ram.

Clone 4 did: Rat. Ox. Dog. Horse. Monkey. Boar. Tiger.

The original Naruto performed a single seal and all 5 launched their jutsu simultaneously.

"Earth Style: Flying Thrown Stones."

"Water Style: Black Rain Jutsu."

"Wind Style: Godly Wind from the Mountains."

"Fire Style: Great Fire Destruction."

"Lightning Style: False Darkness."

All 5 jutsu fired and merged together, creating something new completely.

"Omni-Elemental: Hand of a Titan!"

The vortex formed into a giant hand that clamped around Obito and detonated. A huge dust storm kicked up. The clones dispelled and there was only one Naruto left. It took a while to settle but when it started to Naruto prayed.

'Please let that have delayed him long enough.'

The dust storm settled after about a minute and the ever ominous figure walked out of it. Obito was more annoyed than ever before.

"You insult me Naruto Namikaze. Not using your full strength. Or are you just waiting for something. Reinforcements maybe? They will never come. There are none. Now I'll end you insignificant life here and now."

He pulled one of his Truth-Seeking Orb through a hole through his hand creating a sword that looked like a DNA strand but with spiked endings.

"This is the sword of The Sage of Six Paths. He used it to defeat any who challenged him. It's the ultimate weapon. Now I will use it to defeat you and take the rest of Nine Tails from you. Prepare to die."

Naruto focused on a spiral on his right hand and focused. A spiralling mass of chakra mirrored the pattern on his palm.

'Manifest and spin chakra the way your hair grows.'

Then he ran his hand over the spinning energy in multiple directions repeatedly, increasing the power and spinning it in multiple directions.

'Make it spin in multiple directions at once.'

Finally he cupped his left hand on top of the ever changing shape.

'Contain it into a perfect sphere. Control it.'

Once he had tamed the chakra into the form he wanted, Naruto withdrew his left hand and stood up fully.

"A mere Rasengan will do nothing. Come!"

Naruto leapt off Bee's head toward Obito who was flying at him. They got closer to each other with each passing moment. Closer. Closer.

'Come on Kurama.'

Closer. Closer. Closer. Too close!

'Done!'

A great blast resonated from the clash due to the raw power of both jutsu. It subsided and Naruto fell to earth, hitting the ground.

Obito smirked.

"It's over Namikaze. I'll be taking the Nine Tails now."

"You'd like that wouldn't you?"

Obito's 'ultimate weapon' shattered all the way down through the hilt. The pieces clattered to the ground and dissolved into nothingness.

"How?"

"A gift from my friend. Kurama." Naruto replied as he got his feet unsteadily. He regains his balance and opened his eyes. They were a glowing blood red with black slits for pupils with black shadowing just like the black fur around Kurama's eyes.

Flashback

'Done!'

Jet black pigment appeared around Naruto's eyes which became the same as Kurama's. The bright blue Rasengan turned a deep purple just before it collided with the black sword.

Flashback end

"Fox Sage Art: Vermillion Rasengan."

The Ninja Alliance cheered as the sword shattered. The battle was in their favour now. Gaara had risen above his murderous relapse and simply restrained Minato with a self sustaining sand prison with a chakra seal on it.

'Could have done with that sooner but thanks Kurama.'

'You're welcome kit.'

Naruto turned to resume the fight. Obito, enraged more than ever, rushed him.

'Fox Sage Art: Fox Kumite.'

Using his newly enhanced senses and reaction time, Naruto put Kakashi and his Sharingan to shame as he dodged, blocked and evaded Obito's attacks with his remaining 9 Truth-Seeking Orbs. Each counter Naruto made destroyed another Orb.

The first counter was swift and turned the tide of the battle in an instant. It formed into a spike that lunged for his heart. Naruto pushed his palm forward to intercept it. It struck his palm as shattered just like the sword Orb had. The second was smashed by his elbow, the third and fourth were wiped out with a Vermillion Rasengan Barrage.

The fifth went straight at Naruto's face. Quicker than the Lightning Style Armor enhanced Raikage, he limboed backwards under it and clapped the Orb between his hands, breaking it.

'Kit, I'll help you take out three but that's the limit with this move for the moment,'

'Go for it.'

Naruto brought his right arm back and, as Obito passed over him, swung it up. Three solid flesh and fur tails came from his tailbone and mimicked his arm motion, spearing three.

Obito only had one left. He formed it into a staff, reminiscent of the Sage's, and charged. Naruto waited. Obito swung the staff as hard as he could. Only to have it knocked out his hand into the air, reverting to a ball as it did. The Ten Tails Jinchuriki was kicked flying into the Shinju Tree. Again.

Naruto snatched the last Orb out of the air before it could return to it's wielder. Obito got up on one knee and cursed Naruto.

"Curse you Naruto Namikaze. How do you keep messing up my plans?"

"I simply can't let you destroy this world. That's why I won't let you do this." Naruto replied, unwavering, painfully aware that his sister was near death. He activated Kurama Chakra mode again and crushed the last Truth-Seeking Orb in his hand.

"It's not your plan Obito, it's mine."

Madara flickered into existence behind Obito and thrust his chakra forward through his hand and attempted to rip Ten Tails out of Obito, the other hand going for the Rinnegan in his left socket. Having forced a reanimated Nagato to bring him back to life truly with Gedo Art of Rinne Rebirth which cause Nagato to die again, even in his reanimated state, Madara only had one of his Rinnegan, Obito had the twin.

'If Madara regains his other eye, he'll be impossible to beat! Let alone being the Jinchuriki for Mother! He was one of the most powerful ninja with his Mangekyō alone. With those two powers complete, he'll be a God more or less!' Kurama shouted in his psyche.

'You can't let him get those powers!' Gyūki agreed loudly.

'STOP HIM NARUTO!' Both Tailed Beasts roared.

Naruto grabbed the Chakra that had fully removed from Obito, right next to Madara, who had retrieved his left eye from the socket of his former partner.

Naruto's glowing eyes narrowed. Three chakra arms, formed with Kurama's help, surged forth. The first grabbed Madara's wrist and crushed it with Kurama's full strength, just as strong as his original body, causing him to drop the eye. The second nabbed the eye and retreated, placing the eye in a sealing scroll, as the third came out of Naruto's stomach and gave the Uchiha the most savage uppercut the Nine Tailed Fox could manage, sending him flying into the sky.

Sadly he landed on his feet. Madara wiped the blood from his mouth.

"The power of the Ten Tails is mine Namikaze. Give me that eye!"

Because of Kurama's attack, Madara had lost his grip on the Ten Tails' chakra. Unfortunately it was too much for Naruto to hold onto and the original Tailed Beast escaped into the world again. And straight away it grabbed Killer Bee, in Tailed Beast State. Bringing him to its mouth which had countless giant sharp teeth, it dropped him on them. Chomping down, Ten Tails consumed Gyūki's chakra and devoured him.

Killer Bee fell hundred of feet and thudded to the ground. Naruto rushed to his side and tried to use Kurama's chakra to heal him. It didn't work. Why wasn't it working?

'Kurama! HELP ME!'

'I'm sorry Naruto, there's nothing we can do.'

'I hate this! I'll beat Madara and make him bring Bee back! I WILL!'

'HE'S DEAD. GET IT THROUGH YOUR HEAD, BRING THE KID BACK WILL ONLY ERASE THE MEMORIES OF THE REAL KILLER BEE. He wouldn't want you to anyway. He's gone kit.'

Naruto rose to his feet but fell again as a vision blocked out his vision.

Minato had broken free of the sand prison, Gaara and the others were fight Zetsu. He pulled out a tri-pronged kunai and swung it. Blood spattered on the ground from Naruko's slashed throat. Kushina lay dead on the ground next to here daughter.

"Stupid girl, letting Naruto take your half of the Demon Fox. I needed it."

Naruto's sight showed more visions of the battlefield as he remained on his hands and knees, devastated. He'd lost everything. The Ninja Alliance was being slaughtered by Zetsu. Only Gaara and a few others remained. Even the others were cut down. The only other survivor fled to his side.

The vision cut off and he came back to reality. In the moment that it took for Ten Tails and Madara to ready and strike, Naruto heard his dark half.

'You can't do this without me. Let me help.'

With that, they joined and became one. His eyes snapped open and the four way strike happened.

Ten Tails stabbed Naruto through with its claws, devouring Kurama and becoming whole again. Naruto punched a Fox Art: Death Claw through Madara's heart. Madara stuck a copied lightning jutsu into Gaara's side, as the only remaining Kage had failed to block Ten Tails' attack.

Madara collapsed dead and the two former Jinchuriki followed, not dead yet. As they lay there, on the cold hard ground, their life force slipping away, Naruto and Gaara reached out and grabbed each other's hand.

"This is the end for us Naruto."

"Yes, it is. But... There is no person I'd rather die beside than you Gaara, my brother.

"Heh... Same here."

Ten Tails roared and thrust with it's claws again.

Only to be intercepted by the last person imaginable.

He was a tall and pale-skinned man with deep wrinkles. He had spiky, shoulder-length, pale-red, with a chin-length braid hanging in front of his left ear. He also sported a spiky beard tapered down to his waist. He had horn-like protrusions on his forehead. He had Rinnegan eyes and lacked eyebrows. He also had a light-coloured circle representing Yang in his right palm, and a dark-coloured crescent moon representing Yin in his left palm.

He wore a white, full-length kimono with a pattern of six red magatama around a high collar, beneath which he wore a necklace which was also made up of six red magatama. On the back of his kimono was a larger Rinnegan marking with a pattern of nine magatama arranged in three rows of three beneath it.

It was the Sage of Six Paths!

Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki sighed.

"Even in this age, you cause strife Mother."

Ten Tails roared again. It's tails rose up and gathered around it's head as it opened its mouth and charged a Tailed Beast Bomb.

Hagoromo made a half Tiger seal.

"Sage Art: Gate of the Great God."

He commanded. Fourteen Torii fell from the sky and pinned all ten tails, the humongous clawed hands, the main body and head of the rampaging beast.

"I suppose it must become a passing time loop then."

Two orbs of grey power emerged from his body and touched the two near dead friends, energising them. It was just enough to for them to complete their task.

"Come you two."

Naruto and Gaara rose to their feet and walked over to Hagoromo. He directed them to stand in front of him, the last two on the battlefield.

"As much as it pains me, Ten Tails must be sealed again. It is an incarnation of my Mother, the first human ever to attain chakra, and the Shinju Tree that gave her that power. She was enraged that me and my brother inherited chakra and joined with it to reclaim what she believes to be hers. Before, my brother sealed the result of the incarnation, Ten Tails into me. The same must happen here. But I am too weak to seal it. You two must. But who will be the vessel."

Both the former Jinchuriki thought hard. Gaara spoke after a while.

"Not to push this burden onto Naruto's shoulders, but I could barely handle Shukaku, I will not be able to host Ten Tails."

"I will accept this responsibility. I hosted Kurama and befriended him, I might be able to tame Ten Tails."

"Very well. Gaara must do the sealing, the knowledge is in the power I gave you. I only hope that this world never needs the Infinite Tsukuyomi ever again."

Gaara began the sealing ritual and Naruto took off his jacket and shirt.

First he erased the Eight Trigrams seal. Then he mixed his blood with ink, created by the Sage, and drew the new seal in place of the old one. Then he drew a barrier seal with the rest of the ink, to prevent Zetsu from interfering and activated it.

Finally Gaara did the last thing. Since he didn't have the chakra that the Sage's brother did, he had to comprise.

"Sealing Jutsu: Reaper Death Seal."

The Death God appeared behind Gaara and asked,

"Why have you summoned me, mortal?"

"To seal the Ten Tails."

"You know I require payment for summoning me?"

"Ask what you will of me."

"Your soul."

The Sage interrupted.

"Would the soul of Madara Uchiha, in the restarted timeline suffice, great one?"

"The restarted timeline?"

"Indeed great one, I intend to send Naruto back in time to save the world."

"Very well. I accept. Once you defeat Madara Uchiha, summon me and I shall take his soul as payment, no other, nothing more. But should you refuse to do so, you know the consequences, Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze."

The reaper plunged its hand into the body of Ten Tails and ripped out the soul and chakra of the beast. Then it thrust the entirety into the seal on Naruto and Gaara finish the sealing.

"Sixteen Trigrams Divine Seal."

The new Ten Tails Jinchuriki shrugged of the effect of the sealing and was approached by the Sage. Hagoromo pulled one of the magatama off of his necklace and handed it to Naruto.

"The Time Magatama. Use it wisely. Be warned, on the first travel you must face the trials of Time herself. If you do not know and accept who you are completely, you will fail and lose yourself. The first time you touch Gaara, he will regain his memories from this timeline. Go now."

"Thank you, Old Man Sage."

With that, Naruto channeled his will into the Time Magatama and envisioned where and when he wanted to go.

'My mother's womb, the night Obito controlled Kurama to attack the village, just before my birth.'

A golden light engulfed him and the journey through time began.


	2. Trials of Time

It was like flying through the air as fast as Rock Lee could run. Except through a golden time tunnel. Through the walls, Naruto could see events, past and future and behind him, the place he had just left.

Suddenly he halted and simply floated in the tunnel. A ageless, feminine voice resonated in his ears.

" _Naruto Uzumaki._ "

Time. She was here somewhere.

"Time? Where are you?"

The same voice replied, seemingly everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

" _Where am I? No. When am I,_ Naruto Uzumaki!"

This time his name was said with venom.

"I've done nothing to wrong you, why do you spit my name like its poison?"

" _Oh haven't you, brother_!"

"Naruko?" Naruto was confused. Naruko was dead, how had she become Time? Then he remembered the Sage's warning.

" _Be warned, on the first travel you must face the trials of Time herself. If you do not know who you are completely, you will fail and lose yourself._ "

This was a trial! So, how did he pass it? Deep down, he did wish he hadn't taken Kuruma's other half from her and when he redid things he would find another way.

" _You didn't have to do it like that! You shouldn't of taken Kurama from me! We could have done it together!_ "

'Wait. There's something wrong with the way she said that.' Naruto realised. Taking a moment to block out the voices in his head, he connected the dots.

"Kurama? We? Don't you mean 'Nine Tails'? And 'I'?"

" _Very observant of you child. Even in the thrall of Minato Namikaze, you knew your sister well enough to recognise the difference between me and her, but two more trials remain. That was trial of humility, to see if you weren't prideful enough to go it alone._ "

"But I left her to die at Namikaze's hands."

" _She was his pawn. I meant when you joined forces with Kirabi, Gyūki's Jinchuriki. Next trial, the Trial of Balance._ "

Two beings came forth from his chest, right from his heart, and drifted either side of him. With them gone, he felt unburdened and free. On his right was a shadowy version of him with blood red eyes and a black sclera. On his left was a light counterpart, with sky blue eyes and a blinding white sclera.

" **You want revenge on Father for what he did? Come, I can give it to you. Give in to the hatred, it makes you strong!** "

"Don't let the darkness win! Love is the way forward, one step at a time. Come on."

Dark and Light. Yin and Yang. He had to confront them. He had fought Minato's avatar that had been imprinted in his body. It had developed and evolved until it shoved him aside instead of influencing his will. Now he had to deal with two parts of himself.

"I don't want to just hate, I don't want to just love, I want to do both. I want both of you, not just one of you."

The two embodiments of the lightest and darkest parts of Naruto's heart looked at each other and their expressions were unreadable. An understanding passed between them and they dissolved. Their essence returned to Naruto's heart and he was at peace, for the present anyway.

Time's voice rang out once again and for the last time.

" _Final trial, Naruto Uzumaki. This will test your will. If you have the strength to master the power of Time, you will go onward to your destination where you will right the wrongs of the world. The Trial of the Mind._ "

The flying sensation from his arrival in the event horizon returned, stronger than ever and tugged him forward. Finally he could repair his mistakes! Then a feeling of dread overcame him. Something was wrong.

The tugging force was pulling him in all directions now. This was a horrific mistake.

'No! I will not give in.'

A picture appeared in his head it was of him, Killer Bee, Gaara, Yugito, Two Tails, Matatabi and Fuu, the Seven Tails, Chomei's Jinchurikis.

The bottom fifth, the part with Fuu in, was ripped off and pulled away by unseen forces, as his left leg was pulled off by the time tunnel, only connected by white strands which too snapped. The middle part with Yugito in was ripped away as Naruto lost himself slowly but surely, and his right leg became the same as the left. The top of the picture, containing Killer Bee, was torn away, just like his left arm was painfully removed from his torso. The left of the picture with Gaara in it was ripped away like the rest and so was Naruto's right arm. Only his part of the picture remained. Naruto screamed as the last part of the picture was split through his head on it, mirroring his head being pulled apart and his last grip failed.

'I won't end here, I will not fail. People are depending on me. FAILURE IS UNACCEPTABLE!'

His head was restored before it could be torn apart and his part of the picture was repaired. Bit by bit, the rest of the picture and his body followed suit in reverse of the order they were pulled apart.

First his right arm, then his left. Then his legs. At last he was whole again and he knew, he'd passed the last trial. The Time Magatama shot out of his hand and hovered in front of him. It almost seemed to regard him.

Without warning, the glowing gold magatama shot forward like bullet, pierced his chest and buried itself in the centre of his heart. The wound didn't even bleed, the same gold light as the tunnel sealed the point of entry with only the kanji for Time in its place. Naruto reached the end of the tunnel and exited it.

He was floating above Kushina, who was in labour, about to give birth to a baby him. Naruto knew it was him who would be born first since he had been born first before. With the power of the Magatama, his body disintegrated into golden energy that entered, Kushina's womb, invisible. Once inside, it targeted the male twin and entered him.

A burning pain spread across his forehead, there was too much knowledge for the infant brain to comprehend. Some of it had to go. Naruto shed the memories of his childhood beatings and 'fox hunts' and all but those of his precious friends, Gaara, Killer Bee, Yugito and Fuu, the Fourth Great Ninja war and his purpose for returning to this point in time. With those sacrifices, he was able to fully settle in his infant body.

The gold kanji over his heart faded as the Time Magatama power deactivated. The Sixteen Trigrams Divine Seal was also not visible. Once he was in childbirth, Naruto felt the child inside him from the time travel takeover begin to cry once his head was fully out. He was lifted out so Naruko could come out too and cleaned him.

By the time the sealing of the Kurama commenced, the two Narutos would be one. 19 minutes later and Naruko was out and Minato was preparing to reseal Kurama.

'3...2...1, and cue.'

Naruto and Naruko were picked up by Obito and a kunai was held above their heads.

"Step away from the Jinchuriki Fouth Hokage, or you children die at the ripe age of less than half an hour."

"Woah, calm down."

"Speak for yourself Minato, I am perfectly calm." Obito stated and threw the children in the air. Another kunai slid into his other hand and both were pointed up at them. Minato used his Flying Raijin God Jutsu and caught Naruto and his sister, keeping them from being stabbed.

'Now, the explosive tags.'

Right on time, the tags began to burn and the Fourth was forced to remove the blankets and leap outside to avoid the explosion. Naruko cried her little lungs out but Naruto remained silent. He had his own problem. Within the seal, Ten Tails fought to break free. It was almost too strong.

The infants were flashed to the location where they would wait for their mother. The two Narutos partially merged in to the time it took for Minato to return with Kushina, who he laid next to them. Naruko was still crying.

'For Kaguya's sake! When will she shut up?'

Finally, Minato came back and grabbed all three of them, flashing them to the place where Kurama was. Kushina launched her chains and bound the fox's limbs tightly, the chains compensating for any minor or major change. The Third was standing next to the ceremonial throne which the children were placed in.

Just as he was placed down, the two Narutos finished merging. Finally, he was safe. He could fight the loyalty seal until he was strong enough to get away from the village. Naruto had nothing against the village as a thing, but everyone would do their utmost to make his life hell. He hated the people but loved the way the village ninja were the best teams. Balanced.

Sarutobi summoned the Death God like before and performed the sealing ritual.

"Lord Death, the Nine Tails must be sealed. I know my soul is forfeit but this I must do, for the sake of the Leaf." There it was. The dedication Naruto admired about the Leaf.

" ** _Then my power is yours until you are done, in return for your soul._** "

Hiruzen split Kurama into Yin and Yang, the chains dividing and rebinding him in his two parts. Minato readied his chakra and once Kurama's Yin was in Naruto's navel, placed the Eight Trigrams Seal. He then did the same for the Yang half, sealing it into Naruko.

Kushina collapsed just after the second sealing, from chakra exhaustion. Then, the Minato Naruto knew and hated, the one that enslaved him as a weapon, returned as soon as the Third had passed on and the Death God was gone.

"Old fool. Now I have the perfect weapons against the enemies of the Leaf."

Naruto resisted the urge to scream as Minato placed the Loyalty Seal in his neck, but not unreachable so it could be built up, and the Chakra Transforming Seal on the muscles of his right hand, so it could not be interfered with.

'Right intention old man, wrong successor. I'm going to have to get rid of these seals somehow. Ten Tails' chakra is out of the question right now, Kurama's wouldn't work since they were placed on me knowing I was his Jinchuriki.'

With that thought, Naruto entered his mindscape to reacquaint with a certain fox. Once inside, he walked to where he knew the Eight Trigrams Seal cage was. A snarling voice meet him.

" **Who are you, insect? How did you get in here?** "

"Your Jinchuriki, from the future."

" **The future? As if!** "

"Doubt me if you will, I did return here from the future. Look around. Do you see a baby in this scape? Back then, you worked with me to defeat the man that controlled you tonight. You even told me your name."

" **If you really did return, prove it! Tell me my name!** "

"Your name... is Kurama. It was given to you by Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, the Sage of Six Paths and, your father."

Kurama was speechless. This human knew his name. And he had never told anyone it before.

" **What happened in this future?** "

"The man who controlled you tonight, his name is Obito Uchiha. He was rescued by and then worked with Madara Uchiha. Their plan was to capture and seal all the Tailed Beasts into the husk of Ten Tails. Madara left the plan to him and he succeeded in getting Shukaku through to Chomei before Obito started the Fourth Ninja War.

"He used the your chakra from the revived Kinkaku and Ginkaku and Gyūki's from a tentacle clone to incompletely revive Ten Tails and became its Jinchuriki, resulting in the death of over half of the Ninja Alliance. I had to quickly ask for your chakra mode and unseal the other half of you and fuse the two of you. Using your Fox Sage Mode, we beat him but Madara had revived and tried to take Ten Tails and his other eye from Obito.

"The resulting three chakra tug-of-war freed it and by that time, Shukaku's former host, Gaara was the only one left of the Alliance. Madara stabbed him, I killed Madara, Ten Tails ran me through with its claws and Gaara had tried to shield me. Eventually, somehow, the Sage held down Ten Tails and Gaara sealed it into me with the Reaper Death Seal. In return for the soul of Madara in this timeline."

" **Mother was sealed in you? Then if you came back...** "

The massive cage behind Kurama's rattled as a deafening roar sound from with it and a massive clawed hand smashed against it. Naruto winced a little at the effort it took to hold the seal in place.

"... **She came back too!** "

"Nailed it."

" **So, what now?** "

"You take a look through the memories that I kept to find out what you want, I'll be up all night holding the seal in place. Even as a seal created for the Ten Tail, it's really hard to keep in place, it's not self sustaining like yours is. Speaking of seals, I'll try to steal the key for yours. If I can't, I'll find another way to open it, even if I have go into forbidden jutsu."

Kurama was shocked. This boys empathy with the Tailed Beasts was so strong, he would delve into the darkest of arts to free them. Like Naruto said he would be, he was up all night holding the seal up.

'Well, now I know where Shukaku gets it from.' He thought in the morning. Now onwards, Hell on Earth awaited.

Time Skip

Naruto was 4 and a half now. He had already experienced the hate of the village. Since the night of his birth, he'd never slept but he didn't have the black rings around his eyes, like Gaara did, but he couldn't sleep nonetheless. Hosting Ten Tails was second nature to him now, he'd split his focus in two so he could maintain the seal and be in the real world at the same time. It was time to start training, and he knew exactly who to go to for it.

Itachi Uchiha.

The Uchiha Anbu had always stood by him, protected him from the beatings and attempts at killing him all he could and most importantly, knew what it felt like to be treated as an object by his own parents.

"I will train you Naruto, if the Fourth wants you to be a weapon, he has no idea what he is asking for. As for that Loyalty Seal, I can take care of it. When is the next level to be applied?"

"When I become 6."

"Then let's get started."

As promised, Naruto had his Loyalty Seal erased. Since he couldn't use chakra to escape the village, the training was focused on Taijutsu, and Shurikenjutsu.

Naruto threw shuriken, kunai, senbon, anything pointy that could be thrown that Itachi could get his hands on, until he hit the target 20 times out of 20. Every time he missed, he was made to do 5 laps of the secret training clearing, which was at least a kilometre from the centre in every direction. Basic Kenjutsu and Bojutsu was included too.

One day Itachi confided a secret mission he'd been tasked with to Naruto.

"The Uchiha have become unstable, my father plans a coup d'état to overthrow yours. I have given the task of eradicating the whole clan. But I can't kill Sasuke. He's innocent. Hatred will consume him if he knows what happened and he will turn on the Leaf. I plan to direct that hate toward myself."

"Then he will not turn on the Leaf. Fair point but there's a big mistake."

"What is that?"

"He will take any path for power to kill you. Even going to the people who would manipulate him. He won't care, he'll do whatever it takes."

"Very true, I hadn't see that. I'll try to make sure he stays with the Leaf when I spark his hate against me. What of your escape, where will you go, and how will you get rid of that seal on your hand?"

"To the Cloud. Just don't tell Akatsuki. I'll find a way get rid of the seal."

"Alright, when the Chunnin exams for you are over, they'll be in the Leaf, from what your memories of the previous timeline tell you?"

"Yes, that's when you came for me with Kisame Hoshigaki as your partner. You put Kakashi in a temporary coma with your Mangekyō and broke Sasuke's arm. One more thing. The one you know to be Madara isn't him. He is Obito Uchiha, and has the Mangekyō in his right eye which gives him Kamui, a part of White Zetsu on his right side replacing his arm and half his chest so he can use Wood Style. Also he can control a Tailed Beast with his eye."

"Alright then. Our respective massacres must begin, the night before you have your 'seal' levelled up. I will kill my whole clan except Sasuke. And you..."

"Will destroy all bonds to Minato Namikaze and the Leaf. It might have been my prison last time but this time, it means nothing." Naruto stated, not hesitating for a moment.

In time, the night came and the two set out on their paths, Naruto to sever all ties to all his family but Naruko, who Kurama could keep an eye on with his other half within her, and Itachi prepared to commit his terrible mission.

Naruto strode through the house, ignoring Minato and Kushina in the sitting room and walked out the door. Almost immediately, Minato flashed to the gate.

"Where are you going?"

"Away from you."

"You're staying here. You belong to me."

Naruto's anger flared and he spat with utmost venom,

"In your sick dreams, you controlling bastard!"

"Then I'll stop you."

Naruto slid a kunai down his sleeve, into his hand, and ran full tilt at his sickening father.

"You can try!"

Minato pulled out his signature kunai and met his son's charge. At the last moment, Naruto went down on his knees and slid under Minato, swiping at his leg. Naruko was it bed so she didn't witness the battle but Kushina was standing in the doorway, staring.

Naruto reversed his grip on the kunai Itachi gave him, one of 10, he had 10 shuriken too, and slashed backward, point first. His blow was blocked by the guard on Minato's kunai which jarred against his, sparks flying from the contact. Using the built up power in his legs, Naruto sprang up into the air and used the locked weapons to pivot around and throw a kick at his father's head. That too was blocked.

His free hand launched a punch across his own body and nearly connected with Minato's face but was caught by his other hand, having dropped his and Naruto's kunai to the ground. Naruto used his restrained limbs to swing his other leg in a reverse axe kick that was intercepted by Minato's forearm.

Another kunai fell into his freed hand and Naruto lunged for his fathers gut. Having no other choice, Minato flung Naruto away from him, coincidentally just behind his dropped weapon that was lightly resting in the earth by the tip.

Naruto flicked his dropped blade up and kicked it at the Fourth, coating it in a thin layer of chakra to increase its speed, power and sharpness. Thin and unnoticed. The projectile missed but served as a decent distraction.

"Minato, above you!" Kushina yelled.

Naruto was already in the air, upside down with 8 Kunai in between his fingers and thumbs. Instantly, Naruto threw them. The first attack was blocked, as were the next and the one after that. Minato dodged the rest but one flew way off target.

"Guess you're a bad shot."

"Or I wasn't aiming for you, control freak."

Minato jumped to the side but not quite quick enough. The chakra enhanced kunai from earlier slid by and cut his cheek. A small splash of blood followed the cut. Naruto had chakra enhanced the last kunai to the same level as the first and thrown it at the first, to change its course.

"Nice trick, but I'm onto you now."

Naruto pulled all his shuriken and threw them at his father. Just as they were leaving his hand and he was tried to enhance them, the seal on his hand became visible and burned. The blades still carried but all but 3 missed. The three that stayed on target were avoided easily.

"You chakra charged your shuriken, smart. But easily countered." Minato bragged. The burning increased until it had nearly reached his elbow. Naruto pulled his final trick.

One of the shuriken flew up out of the ground and expanded into a Demon Wind Shuriken. Naruto's right hand had a wire attached to the large spinning object that was headed back to the source. At the last possible moment, Naruto leant to the left.

The spinning blades sent blood flying, splattering the ground, as it severed Naruto's arm half an inch above the elbow. He howled in pain while his arm fell the ground, motionless.

"ARGHHH!"

Both parents were shocked to see their child dismember himself. Fighting past the pain, Naruto smirked.

"Easily countered. Take it, sucker."

With his left hand, Naruto formed a half Tiger seal.

"Body Flicker Jutsu."

And he was gone.

Outside the village, Naruto called on Kurama's power through the seal, which was weakened by the presence of Ten Tails in the same body.

The blood dripping from his arm curved back and began to coat his body, tainted a bit black by Kurama's chakra. It crept up his arm and all over his body, covering it in seconds. His face of pain was the last thing to disappear beneath the Version 2 Chakra Cloak.

Four Tails extended from where his tailbone was. Slowly, the red chakra and blood mix seeped more out of his arm to form a temporary replacement. It would hold up for a while but not too long, so he had to be quick.

Itachi body flickered next to him with his signature crow Genjutsu and placed a chakra cloaking seal on his chest, in the centre.

"I got the modern copy of the Uchiha Tablet for you. Now all you have to do is steal the rest of the things you want."

" **Thanks. Gotta go, this arm won't hold for more than the cloak lasts.** "

The scroll containing what was written on the Tablet was placed on his back where it sank through the cloak and disappeared into a seal that Itachi made for storage.

"One last thing. Open your mouth as wide as you can."

Naruto was confused but complied anyway. His mouth opened to its limit but the white crack that showed the strain split until it opened wide enough to fit a child's head in. A black crow flew out from behind Itachi, down his throat.

" **What was that?** "

"A crow that houses the left eye of Shisui Uchiha. You know what that means."

" **Good idea, no one would think to look where I'm going to find the other Kotoamatsukami eye.** "

"All I can say is, use it wisely."

Naruto sped of back around the village to the archives where every jutsu was recorded. Even the Hokages jutsu would be there. Once inside he scoured the place looking for things.

" **Flying Raijin, check.** " Naruto muttered as he pulled the scroll off the shelf. Now that he had was he was originally looking for in such a short time, he still had 20 minutes or so until he had to go to get to the Cloud in time.

" **Let's see. Shadow Shuriken Jutsu, a copy of the forbidden scroll? Sure why not. Wood Style definitely, Wind Style I'll need that and Lightning Style.** "

Naruto sealed his score in a scroll and made a silent break for it.

' ** _Hey kit, why didn't you take those Fire Style?_** '

'I know most of the standard ones, I already copied the B ranks and above. Itachi could teach me jutsu, I just couldn't use it while _he_ wasaround.'

Now on top of the monument, Naruto decided to give the villagers a parting gift. Summoning as much of Kurama's power as possible, five more tails spouted and chakra built up in his mouth.

'Roar of Fear!'

The roar he let out was the same as the one that resonated from the controlled Kurama six years ago. Naruto surveyed the panic that struck the residents for a short while but eventually sped off to his destination.

Any who happened to see him thought the Nine Tails had possessed a human to exact his vengeance. Hands and feet kicked up a following of dirt as Nine Tailed State Naruto bounded across the land. It would take around 5 days to reach the Cloud Village.

'Better get going then.'


	3. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger

Naruto was tired. Three days had passed since he left the Leaf. Between running to the Cloud and keeping Ten Tails from exploiting his weakness, he had no strength left. He had to get to the village quickly or he would lose what control he still had over his two seals. 4 of the tails had deteriorated until there was nothing left.

He'd just passed the border of the Land of Hot Spring when a tsunami of exhaustion overcame him in a heartbeat. His foot caught on a rock and Naruto tumbled and crashed across the ragged earth. He was dragged into his mindscape by the constant conflict.

Ten Tails smashed and swung against the cage. It was on the verge of breaking. The gates were bent out of shape and a few bars had been broken. He slammed his hands down on the floor and golden chains erupted from the ground, wrapping round and reinforcing the seal.

"ENOUGH TEN TAILS!" Naruto yelled.

The titanic beast stopped its assault on the seal and turned to him. It's singular, massive, red, ringed eye with tomoe bore into his two dark blue ones.

"Alright I've got your attention. Are you done trying to force your way out of the seal? Because if you are, let's talk."

Ten Tails seemed to wrestle with its own mind until it sank to the floor and a demonic but female voice spoke from its spiky mouth.

" ** _Why do you push yourself child? You cannot do everything._** "

Naruto instantly had his reply.

"I know I cannot do everything at this point in time. My body is but that of a child. But my mind grasps everything it shouldn't be able to by human standards. The key to progress is endurance. Mistakes show I'm trying."

" ** _Still it is pointless._** "

" **I thought that too, until I met Naruto.** "

Kurama walked to the front of his seal. It had been moved to opposite the massive cage that held Ten Tails.

" **He showed me what was possible when you believe. He tamed my centuries of hatred in a single moment. He fought to the bitter end against a foe that was too great for any to face and did so alongside another Jinchuriki and a friend. He returned, having endured the Trials of Time herself, to fight again. If you don't believe a host that has tried to give you freedom, believe your child!** " He roared, his nine tails lining up behind him.

" ** _Our child? We..._** **I** ** _had two sons who stole my chakra and abused their gift!_** "

Kaguya had surfaced from the incarnation of her and the sacred tree.

" **No, your sons did not squander their chakra Kaguya. They used it as it always should have been used! To help people connect and grow together! Your rage caused you to become submissive to the will of the Shinju and destroyed the world! Every last man, woman and child, all living creatures. Horses, tigers, foxes, rabbits all gone! Your envy started a legacy of destruction that continued to future generations until it destroyed everything! And for what!?** "

The mother to the Sage was silent. A fox with only half its power had dared to disrespect her and point out her flaws. The insolence!

" ** _What would you know of such things, fox? You are but a half of your own power._** "

Kurama was getting ready for a rant, Naruto could feel it.

" **I may be divided but I am still Kurama, Nine Tails, eldest of the Tailed Beasts, King of Foxes, Power Incarnate! With a simple swipe of my tail, I can level mountains, cause tsunamis. Even half asleep, I can defeat all 8 of my younger siblings at once. My power may be split in two, but my mind and soul is still one!"**

The giant fox ran its clawed hand through its fur and sighed.

" **Sorry, I** ** _really_** **needed that.** "

"You done? Because I still need to get to Cloud." Naruto called out. He was an ant to the smaller of the two beasts.

" **Oops, sorry Naruto I forgot you were caught in the middle of this.** " Kurama picked Naruto up in his hand and placed him on his head, inside his own cage.

" ** _Why do you lower yourself to consort with a human, if you are so powerful?_** "

" **Because that's what the true point of having Jinchuriki is. Helping them grow. Teaching them the way. Even Tailed Beasts make mistakes, I have made many that I am not proud of. But I learn from them. I learn from Naruto. Up until now, I was too stubborn, too prideful, too deeply rooted in what I believed to be my 'superiority' to humans. But I choose to help him now.** "

Kaguya seemed to think this over for quite a while. Eventually she spoke.

" ** _Very well, I will give this child some chakra to boost what you gave him. After all, if he dies, we die with him. Now leave me be, insignificant creatures._** "

" **Just to keep him alive? You remind me of myself. I only ever gave chakra to my first host when they were on the verge of unacceptable defeat. I didn't even bother to help my second at all, her seal pinned me with stakes and chains to a rock.** "

Naruto returned to the world and felt the rush of a fragment of Ten Tails chakra enter his cloak. The spiked protrusions that spiralled into something resembling a conch shell grow out of his back and the five remaining tails dissolved and reformed, stronger. Finally the black in the black and red, chakra infused blood became more prominent and the red aura surrounding him darkened to a shade closer to purple.

The temporary replacement for his arm hardened and gained more interactive control to his severed muscles. The ground cracked under his hands and feet as Naruto rose heavily to all fours. The ground where he was standing became a small crater as Naruto took of and raced onward, through the Land of Frost.

The icy ground was torn up but would soon be covered in snow. Naruto raced across the ground, caught in a rush of power that filled his movements. After a day, the border that separated the Land of Frost from the Land of Lightning was in sight. Crossing the border, Naruto was could finally see the end. His destination was within reach.

Naruto had ran nonstop up until now. Streaking across the earth, he saw a glimmer in the distance. The place was in sight.

" **At long last, I see this haven. Take me home.** "

Version 2 Naruto was an untouchable comet as he flew over earth and water, danced through lightning. Not a single spark or drop or clod of the forces of nature touched the double Jinchuriki. In this state Naruto felt, knew, he was beyond the power of the worldly forces that would stop a mortal.

The sea churned in his wake as he raced across the water that separated the massive stacks of the Storm Cloud Ravine. On the main land mass a steep staircase with platform interval reached up almost the whole mountain.

' ** _That Bee kid is here, just like you thought._** '

'Good, cause I'm beat.'

Naruto ran ruggedly up the steps, his strength dropping like a stone. He made it two thirds of the way up and hit the dirt on the second interval.

'Gotta get Bee's attention. If I haven't already.'

' ** _Got it kit. Roar!_** '

A weak but loud roar reverberated out of his throat. Then his head dropped. For a second, Naruto blacked out. Footsteps jolted him back awake. The sound of running.

Twisting his head to look, he saw Killer Bee above him. His chakra cloak peeled away slowly and the replacement arm burst. Blood began to soak the ground. The part of the cloak covering his head drew back and his face was visible.

"Hey Eight... Nine would say hello himself but he's got... stomach problems."

Inside Killer Bee's mind, Gyūki was going ballistic.

' ** _Nine Tails is sealed in this kid? Who is bleeding off a Version 2 cloak that came out of a severed arm?_** '

'No time Eight. Gotta get this kid to a doctor.'

Bee picked Naruto up, his Tailed Beast Cloak was completely gone leaving his arm to bleed out, and began to Body Flicker all the way to the Village. No raps were heard.

' ** _No rapping? I've never seen you this serious, even with Two Tails' host._** '

'That's 'cause this kid is dying. I got no time for rap.'

After a few minutes, the brother of the Raikage was in the village and rushing to the hospital. Everyone he passed stared at the boy in his arms but Killer Bee ignored them.

"BEE! What are you doing running around?!" A yelled at him.

"Got no time to talk bro, got a kid to save."

A was thoroughly confused but went along with his little brother anyway. Now that the A-B tag team was together, no one bothered them and all cleared a path.

Once in the hospital, Naruto was rushed to the emergency room and a squad of doctors began attending him. Inside the seal, the tree side of Ten Tails was acting up, attacking the cage again. If Naruto fell asleep now, it would break free.

' ** _Naruto, stay awake! If you pass out, mother will be free to cause havoc! You must stay awake!_** ' Kurama roared at him, keeping him alert.

"Put him under." A doctor said.

"No! I have to stay awake!"

A burst of Kurama's chakra squeezed through the seal and attacked the sedative needle, smashing it.

"Let the kid stay awake, I feel it's important ya see." Bee told them and the doctors stopped trying to put Naruto to sleep. All sorts of medical devices were hooked up to him. Even a heart monitor. An oxygen mask with pure oxygen was put on his face. It would help with keeping him awake and healing.

The problem was, even Kurama couldn't regenerate limbs. Not sealed away anyway. Said fox was pondering a way to replace Naruto's severed arm.

" **Prosthetic? No, wouldn't hold up in a fight. I can't regenerate it like this. But Ten Tails can. If it can be persuaded.** "

Kurama walked to the front of his seal and called out.

" **Kaguya, listen to me.** "

" ** _Kaguya, no more._** " The Ten Tails roared at him.

" **You heard me before, hear me again**."

Ten Tails seemed to focus a bit more and regarded him.

" **Naruto needs a miracle beyond my power to save his life. You kept him alive before, why not now? If he dies, you die and your power scatters to the winds. So please, save him. Like you tried to save the world.** "

Again, the original Tailed Beast fought itself until one broke through.

" ** _Very well fox. I caution you, his arm will not be what it was. It will be proof he is mine. Not a frail human replacement. It will take approximately three days._** " Kaguya was the one that answered.

" **Thank you, mother.** "

Outside in the world, Naruto's bleeding slowed to a sluggish crawl. The doctors were as astonished as was Naruto. A whisper from his mind told him what was happening.

" _Good old Kurama._ " He smiled under his breath. Then the pain started.

Black bone tissue began to form on the end of the cut-off Humerus bone, very gradually reforming the end of the bone. Naruto was tied down by soft but, by human standards, unbreakable restraints, due to his thrashing around. Made to hold down Killer Bee should he ever need an operation.

A few hours later and the Raikage was sitting in his office.

"Well doctor, what is the status of the patient?"

A woman in a doctors uniform was standing in front of his desk.

"He is stable for now. Surprising since he lost an arm. We've been able to find out that the patient is 6 years old and somehow got all the way to Storm Cloud Ravine with his wound _and_ has had it for around 5 days. But that's not even the start."

"Go on."

"His skeletal structure, the bones in his arm if you will, are rebuilding. In just 3 hours they've regenerated an eighth of the lost bones. For reasons we can't explain, his new bones are black but they are extremely dense. He's been left under watch of our finest nurses to rebuild himself. At this rate..."

"What? At this rate what?"

The doctor recomposed herself and continued.

"At this rate he will have his bones back 24 hour from when he started reconstitution Lord Raikage."

"What of the muscles in his arm? The flesh that covers it?"

"By my prediction, with how he is progressing, the patient's muscles will regenerate after his bones are complete, then his flesh."

"Very well. You may leave." A dismissed the doctor. He then turned to his brother.

"Alright Bee, out with it. Where'd you find this kid and who is he?"

"Found him on the porch, 'bout to go out like a torch. I hold Eight like he holds Nine, for the Cloud that's just fine. Don't know who he is but the ladies all gonna be his."

"Alright thats it! IRON CLAW!"

Bee's complaints could be heard all around the village.

In the hospital, Naruto was staring at the slow reconstruction of his arm. On the same schedule, his hair and eyebrows were turning white like Obito's had been when he was the Ten Tails Jinchuriki.

'Guess it comes with the job.'

' ** _What does kit?_** '

'My hair's turning white at the same rate my arm is regrowing.'

' ** _Didn't for Old Man Sage but true. Your eyes are becoming darker too._** '

'I kinda like it, gets rid of some of the resemblance to Namikaze. Also, the whisker marks aren't really noticeable at a distance anymore. And I look less like I'm Naruko's twin.'

' ** _Your miss her don't you?_** '

'How is she?'

' ** _Still being pampered. Her arrogance grows everyday. So does her pride. That's dangerous._** '

'Guess I'll have to knock that out of her in the Chunnin Exams. If anyone should do it, it's me. I am her older brother after all.'

' ** _Fair enough. By the way, due to Ten Tails presence and the six years my seal has been strained by us communicating more than Namikaze expected, I can, with your consent and control, manifest a single limb or tail attached to your body. You would control it but it is still my body part. You could read the scrolls you have with this ability and not have the doctors nagging you too much._** '

'Sounds good. Can we try it?'

' ** _Here comes the Raikage, ask him to send out the medics if he doesn't already._** '

"Out. Bee and I need to talk to the patient."

The staff obeyed him without question and exited the room. The Raikage sat in one of the chairs while Bee stood in the doorway.

"Okay kid, I'm the Raikage, call me A though, I hate formalities. What's your name?"

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki. Nice to meet you."

"My brother, Killer Bee tells me that he found you in the Ravine. What happened?"

"I ran away from the Leaf because the Fourth Hokage, my _father_ , tried to control me since I'm a Jinchuriki of the Nine Tails. I kinda get along with the fox, he helped me get here."

' ** _As much as I accept the need for a little secrecy, I hate not being called by name._** '

'Sorry Kurama.'

"Okay. I can see you've got parent issues. You said a Jinchuriki of the Nine Tails. There's another?"

"My twin sister, Naruko hold the fox's Yang chakra. He was split into Yin and Yang when he was sealed with the Reaper Death Seal."

"Alright. Any particular reason you came here?"

"I heard about the Eight Tails and Two Tails being here and thought 'I'd fit in better there than in the Leaf'."

"Glad to see you know about the Cloud somewhat. As you know, the Two and Eight Tails are here in the Cloud, sealed in Jinchuriki. Two Tails' host is your age, her name is Yugito. You've already met my brother."

"Yo." Was all Bee said.

"This may seem sudden, and you have the right to refuse, but I want you to join her class. She needs a friend her age. Bee is always them when he can be but he can't stop her peers from bullying her like he, my personal guard, a few other ninja, and myself stop the mobs and 'demon hunts'."

"Mobs? 'Demon hunts'? I leave a village to escape the 'fox hunts' and 'finishing what the Third started' to find people trying to kill a little girl for what a Tailed Beast who is peaceful unless provoked did in self defence? Are you kidding? I won't let another suffer my fate if I can help it. Those ignorant fools will never hurt her again."

"Then you accept?"

"No doubt in my mind." Naruto's eyes were solid as steel with resolve. It's taken months to turn around Yugito's opinion of him last time. This time round he would always stand by his friends.

"Alright, once you are done healing, you will join her class in the Academy."

"My arm will be done in 72 hours from when the regeneration began. I'll be up and about after that."

"Okay kid, see you in a few days at the academy, I'll introduce you personally."

"Fair warning, I'm a double Jinchuriki. I host Nine Tails but I returned through time to save the world, hosting the mother and combination of all the Tailed Beast, Ten Tails. If I wanted to, I could absorb the chakra right out of a human and kill them."

The kanji for Time glowed gold on his bare chest, right over his heart. Bee and A were shocked for a moment and their memories from the last timeline returned, as Naruto wished it so.

"Then I pity any who would gain your wrath. Mastery of time and nigh omnipotence is not a welcoming adversary."

"Gotta say, Ten Tails got a mean bite. Better keep you calm or I might get smite." Bee rapped.

"Get out, or I'll obliterate you."

"Definitely scariest thing ever."

"Come on Bee, I'm just kidding."

"Phew, though I was done, you got a mean glare son."

Not even a full day later, his midnight black bones were done and muscles were extending down them at a painfully slow rate.

'Hang in there, Yugito.'

Over the countless hours he was in the hospital, he had from a furred hand from his right shoulder, the original right arm that was undergoing regeneration was been temporarily shut out of his movement system but he could still barely think with the pain that emanated from it. Nonetheless, he read the average scroll sized copy of the Forbidden Scroll. Several jutsu caught his attention.

Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu, created 10 or more clones that were just like shadow clones but the knowledge transfer was optional. Spirit Transformation Jutsu, release the spirit from ones own body and let's them possess another, he'd probably use that one to save those who were in danger or couldn't defend themselves in time or at all then return to his own body. Soulbane, a Genjutsu purely for turning comrades against each other. Summoning: Reanimation, brings the dead back to life under conditions of a seal tag. Shadow Shuriken Jutsu, multiplied shuriken in mid flight. Reaper Death Seal, he knew that one all too well.

'I'll learn them, if only to have some wild cards up my sleeve.'

' ** _Good idea. Most don't even know those jutsu._** '

At the end of 48 hours, the muscles were wrapped around the bones, that had marrow in them now and flesh was beginning to cover the muscles. 12 hours of pain later, and the arm was completely covered in white flesh.

'I thought you said it would take 72 hours, it's only been 60.'

' ** _Remember when I said your arm would be... Different?_** '

'Is saying no an option?'

' ** _Kaguya's side of Ten Tails said your arm wouldn't be frail like a humans and it would be a sign that you are her host. I'm guessing she's going to pull some unique twist._** '

'Well, an arm is an arm. I'll just roll with whatever I get.'

Over the next 6 hours, his new arm toughened and grew more solid until it was the hardest thing on earth. For the last 6 his impenetrable arm split the hard skin into scales that locked into place, the root of one underneath the end of another scale. The scales spread from his fingertips to a third of the way up his bicep, fading into the skin

His arm was done. The fox arm retreated into his shoulder and the new one engaged itself, jump starting the muscle and nervous systems in it. The doctors and nurses were all gone and they hadn't removed the restraints. No choice then.

'Let's see what this thing can do.'

Using the Chakra Ripping that was granted to Ten Tails hosts when it's chakra was in use, he absorbed the chakra from the seal on the restraint around his right wrist, rendering the Reinforcement and Chakra Suppressing Seals useless. His new arm was made from the chakra of said beast, thus its abilities were somewhat granted to him. The hardened leather was shredded in two when Naruto ripped his arm freed with the immense strength in it.

Seizing the seal on the neck restraint, Naruto drained the chakra in that one too and undid the buckle. Ripping the energy out of the seals as he undid the restraints, he grew slightly stronger with each ripping. Once freed of the restraints, he pulled off the oxygen mask and pulled out the tubes that feed, watered and dealt with all biological needs.

The heart monitor was detached from him too along with all the other equipment. Nothing there he needed to sustain his life anymore. Staggering out of the room he'd been moved to, Naruto made his way down the corridor slowly. Doctors called out for him to stop and some got in the way.

As much as it pained him to hurt people for doing what they thought was right, Naruto accidentally sent the first intercepter flying into a wall by using too much force.

'Oops.'

' ** _Oops? Are you kidding? That was hilarious!_** '

'This new arm is going to take some getting used to.'

' ** _This should be fun to watch._** '

The next interference was dealt much less power. Naruto hit him with his new arm, just enough to wind the ninja that tried to stop him and drop him but not like he hit the last one. Only one other tried and Naruto dropped him, trying his hardest not to do damage.

He went down and turned, so he was facing the same way as the ninja but to the side, and , when he passed a moment later, used his forearm to flip the ninja twice and hit the floor, out cold.

' ** _Watching you drop these humans is never going to get old._** '

'Watch it Kurama, or I'll learn to use my new appendage with you as the test dummy.'

Naruto broke into a run and sprinted barefoot, he was only wearing his lower clothes minus the ninja sandals, to the source of his hurry. Yugito was being chased by a mob. No one in the group was without a weapon or instrument of harm.

"Sorry about this A, but I have to."

Kurama cast a Genjutsu over his arm, making it look like it was a normal arm.

' ** _Thank me later kit, go._** '

Naruto still had one of the kunai Itachi gave him. He didn't need it so he tore into the crowd. It was over before it began. One touch of each person was all it took. The mob dropped dead, not a spark of chakra left in any of them. Luckily it was only civilians.

"Jinchuriki Art: Chakra Ripping."

The last remnants of chakra flooded in through the upright scales on Naruto's arm and they shut in a wave, from fingertips to the end of the scales.

"You okay, Yugito?" A asked, landing to see the mob dead.

"I am now."

"I see you met the Clouds latest resident."

Yugito looked up at Naruto. Her blond hair was dirty from the daily abuse and from hiding. That disgusted Naruto to no end. People could not see the forest for the trees, to use Pain's phrase.

"Here. To cover up that arm." The Raikage handed Naruto a wrapping which wrapped itself around his arm, covering all traces of the scaled arm. One would think he just had thing for wrappings. "See you at the academy tomorrow kid."


	4. Son of the Hellfire Dragon

"Alright class, Lord Raikage is bringing a new student with him today. As such, treat him with respect." The Chunnin teacher told his class.

In the hall A and Naruto were having a quick discussion.

"Okay kid, what name do you want to use?"

"Anything but Namikaze. I'll take Uzumaki." He replied.

The two walked into the class and A addressed the students.

"This is Naruto Uzumaki. He will be joining you lot. Now get down to work!"

"Naruto go sit over there." The instructor said, pointing to the seat next to Yugito. He walked over and was about sit next to her when a voice yelled.

"Don't sit over there, that girl is a demon! She's just the Two Tailed Hell Cat in human form!"

"Yeah, why would this guy like you anyway, demon?"

The protests and insults died as a bloodthirsty Killing Intent filled the air. The instructor look at the Raikage who was smirking. The KI was coming from Naruto. His voice grew deeper and more demonic as Kurama's impure chakra swirled around him forming a transparent red chakra cloak that covered his body. No tails were emerging however.

"If you think, that this girl is Two Tails in human form, wouldn't that make Killer Bee Eight Tails in human form? You insult her, you insult the brother of the Raikage. They hold burdens you cannot hope to comprehend how much willpower it takes to keep a Tailed Beast back, day after day. However my burden is the hardest, because I carry the Nine Tails. It is almost unbearable. Since the day it was sealed in me, I have never slept, for fear that it would overwhelm the seal and escape. Even awake, I have nightmares caused by the very beast that took so many lives. It wants nothing more to destroy everything, I am the only thing holding it back from the world."

"Now shut up and leave her alone, insect." Naruto scorned and wrapped Yugito in a hug which she gladly returned. His cloak receded and the day went on. The moment he defended Yugito and revealed his Jinchuriki status, he was welcomed into Yugito's small group of friends. This group consisted of Samui, Atsui, Omoi and Karui.

The first question Yugito asked at lunchtime was, "Why did you do that? I'm just a nuisance."

"You are anything but a nuisance to me. When I look at you, I see someone who knows the cruelty that the world holds, not a naive child. You don't think like those idiots do, you know that the road to becoming a ninja is full of hardship." Naruto replied.

' _ **You know there are rules to that power, you can't simply use it to restore everyone's memories.**_ ' Kurama told him.

' _I know, I know. But if they find out, I don't want them to turn on me. By giving them their existing experiences with me and the rest of their memories like I have now, I might be able to prove that I am not the next Madara._ '

' _ **Fair enough, you have only restored three people's memories so far. How many more?**_ '

' _The Jinchuriki, maybe Nagato and Konan too._ '

Kurama was silent for a while. In the mindscape he was pondering the outcome if he did that. It might just work, with the Rinnegan out of Obito's and by extension, Madara's control, the future could be saved. The problem of Nagato's failing body was another case.

' _ **Alright, go ahead but I warn you, you may not like what comes after.**_ '

The gold Kanji appeared on his chest, under the open front shirt with long sleeves that allowed for unhindered movement he wore. The gold power broke off in streams this time and went into the foreheads of the group. Their memories returned in an instant and they acted like they would have before.

' _Why do I look like a kid again?_ ' Was the unspoken question in their minds.

"I gave you back your memories and some of mine as well, to explain why this is happening."

"We are so talking about this later, you know that right?" Yugito said in a tone that made everyone want to run for their lives, including Naruto.

' _Why do I get the feeling that she is going to find a way around you and Ten Tails to kill me Kurama?_ '

' _ **If I know Matatabi, she will. Wait. Oh no. Kit, whatever you do, don't let her in here! Please, I'm begging you!**_ '

' _Why not?'_

 _'_ _ **You know what happened last time!**_ _'_

 _'Yeah, not something I want to relive.'  
_  
The rest of the day went on and, unlike the Leaf's Academy, the school was heavily physical oriented. Naruto beat everyone else in Shurikenjutsu and Taijutsu.

"Naruto Uzumaki, your turn."

Naruto stepped foward from the line into the centre of the ring of targets. There were 12 and he had to hit as accurately and fast as he could. Easy.

"Begin."

An visage of Itachi Uchiha seemed to haunt Yugito's vision as he performed. Naruto flickered out of sight and reappeared above the ring with 8 kunai between his fingers. The first was dead on the bullseye. So were the next 5. The other two thudded into their respective bullseyes and 4 more blades were launched. 2 were seemingly off target but redirected by the other pair knocking them on course at hitting their own targets in one move.

One thing was certain. The Cloud trained their ninja like they were in the middle of a war and that meant they were more efficient than the so called 'Strongest of the Five Villages' Hidden Leaf.

"Hey Naruto, you were never that good with Shurikenjutsu, how'd you do that?" Yugito asked when he got back in line.

"Itachi." Was all he had to say.

Taijutsu was like second nature to him since Itachi had drilled the Uchiha Interceptor Style, Strong Fist and the basics of jujutsu into him until he knew them all. The matches let him down though.

"Begin."

Naruto's opposition charged at him without even a glance at his posture. Naruto had settled into his own stance before the match had even begun. His body was twisted to the right, low to the ground. 70 percent of his weight was on his front leg, Naruto's back knee very close to touching the achilles tendon of his front leg, his front arm bent at the elbow with his palm facing outward. The rear arm was protecting the armpit/ribs area with fingers facing up, his eyes were looking underneath his front arm, his back straight, but slightly rounded. Rear foot heel was off the ground and weight was on toes.

He called it the Dragon Stance.

The academy student threw a basic punch Naruto could deal with countless ways, even if he was on his deathbed. He took the quick way to end the fight. Naruto gripped the boy's hand and threw him out of the ring. The whistle sounded and the match was over.

"Hey, no fair!" The kid yelled.

"Life isn't fair. Loved ones are taken from us, comrades die, everything comes to an end some time. Ninja are those who protect and fight from the shadows. We are the hidden guardians of the world.

"Self sacrifice. That is what is what embodies a ninja. Those who seek power, glory and fame don't deserve to be called a ninja. Remember that." Naruto was dead set on never becoming arrogant or selfish, he'd rather be an unacknowledged child than a famous hero if he could protect the things precious to him.

 **Time skip - 2 and a half years**

"Kurama, I have experimented with time travel enough that I have become proficient enough to go through time, now I want to try something else. I want to see if I can cross universes. This world… me… we are both not ready. I am not strong enough to save it. Not yet. I want to see if I can learn to use other powers. And… I am afraid. Of what I will become if I don't find some way… to do what I must."

" **What?! You're fleeing?! What kind of person have you become, if you cannot handle what you once dominated?! I can't believe you would be so weak and selfish! If you do this, I will not forgive you!** " But Naruto ignored him. He summoned the power of Time and engulfed himself in its cosmos, hurtling through space and time. Kurama's voice faded into the back of his mind, unheard by him now.

' _ **I will not forget your cowardice Naruto Uzumaki! I will forever haunt you! You have betrayed me and I will not trust you again!**_ '

Naruto slammed face down in the dirt. He rose to his feet to find a mountain range behind him. From those mountains came an incredible source of pain and regret. He sensed it. He walked up the mountains for hours and came to a cave. A voice, rasping and definitely not human came from within.

" _How did you find me human?_ "

The solitary giant flame spoke with a voice that resonated inside his skull. In it, Naruto could hear countless years of isolation and pain.

"I felt your pain, the sadness in your heart. I can sense negative emotions and distinguish between them."

" _That is a... curious ability. How did you attain it?_ "

"A side effect of having the eldest Tailed Beast sealed in me. As his vessel, I inherited the ability from him."

" _Tailed Beast? I know of no such creatures._ "

"I'll explain. I crossed over from an alternate universe where there is no knowledge or use of magic, we use an energy called chakra instead. Instead of drawing in the energy, we produce it inside of ourselves. As ninja, who wield chakra to the point of mastery, we can change the very nature of the chakra. Originally, by the Ninja Creed, Ninshū created by the first ninja, the Sage of Six Paths, chakra was used for the Elemental Releases, Fire, Wind, Water, Earth and Lightning as well as sub elements like Ice and Wood."

" _Excuse my interruption, you said originally, do these ninja no longer use chakra that way?_ "

"Sadly, no. The teachings of Ninshū were lost over the ages and chakra was weaponised into the form of Ninjutsu. Fire Release became Fire Style, the other elements and sub elements are the same. First came the Clan Wars. Each clan fought day and night for the money of those they were hired by and to be called the strongest clan. Eventually the clans joined together to form villages but even then war persisted. The were a total of three Ninja Wars. So many children died on the battlefield instead of playing at home. It was ghastly. The nine Tailed Beasts were used as weapons in those wars. I myself was witness to the Fourth Ninja War, if that's anything to go by, I will never let war happen again, even if I have to die to achieve that peace."

" _Your words move me child. I too once hoped for those ideals. But I realised peace was impossible at the time. Peace between humans and dragon, even peace amongst humans was nonexistent. Dragon Slayers were trained to wield the magic we do in order to kill dragons. The dragons gave them this power as a show of faith._

" _It worked for a short while but the humans wanted to test the power to slay a dragon. They did so and thus, war started again. One dragon killer in particular stood out. No one knows who he receive his training from, but this one Slayer, Acnologia, killed so many dragons, bathed in so much dragon blood, used his power so much, he became a dragon. The Black Dragon of the Apocalypse._

" _I too was once a Dragon Slayer. However, the cause of my transformation is different. Acnologia, by drinking dragon blood, activated Dragon Blood and used Dragon Force so many times he transformed into a dragon. I on the other hand, tried to stop conflict between dragons and humans, using my magic on a wide scale so many times and having to enter either Dragon Drive or Dragon Force to have enough to power to do so._

" _In short, when Dragon Slayers use their Dragon Magic to a set limit, the transformation begins. At first it just looked and felt like I was struck in Dragon Force all the time, but as time went on, I gained more power and became more dragon-like until I became a fully fledged dragon. No part of me is still human. Except one... My heart._ "

This was most curious to Naruto. So the cost of the power to slay a dragon, is to become one eventually. It did make sense though.

" _Child, look at me._ "

Naruto obliged, gazing up at massive flame.

" _Those words of yours, I once said the same thing. Hearing them given me hope again. Perhaps the reason I could not bring peace with those thoughts was because the era was not right. Maybe it was because the world needed to learn a lesson. You shall be my legacy._ "

"I am honoured you have chosen me, but why me?"

" _Because only you have the potential to bring that peace. The flames of a Hellfire Dragon are not taught. They are passed, from one dragon to the next, bestowed by the predecessor unto the successor. You can only learn so much from me without taking my power. Now, I shall teach you all I can, but I am a mere fragment of my former self, my soul and fire scattered. The larger portion of my soul was sent to the afterlife, my time is short. In that time you must learn all I can teach, do you accept?_ "

"I do."

" _Then from this day, you are no ordinary wizard. You are the Hellfire Dragon Slayer, the son of Atlas Flame!_ "

The training was going to be Hell on Earth.

" _Before you wield hellfire, you must first understand this. This power can be used to hurt and to heal, it has no predetermined alignment. It is not evil magic like Acnologia's nor is it good like the Sky Dragon, Grandeeney's. It is dependent on the heart of the user._ "

Atlas was stern about this point.

" _Now, this shall be painful, you haven't used magic before so this is not going to be pleasant. I would have preferred you to be younger so this would be easier._ "

"How much younger?"

" _The same age humans start learning magic, around five or six human years, for Dragon Slayers however, the younger the better._ "

The gold kanji for Time glowed again for the first time since he'd crossed over and Naruto's body rapidly got younger and younger until he was four years old physically.

"How's this?"

Atlas regarded him carefully.

" _Power over the passage of time? Impressive. Any younger and what I'm about to do would kill you._ "

A flaming, clawed limb extended from the fire and a single claw rested on Naruto's chest. The flames turned from hot to warm and the claw pushed into his body, into his heart. It didn't seem to be killing him.

Then the burning started. Atlas withdrew his claw and the wound sealed, leaving a black, cross-shaped scar over his heart. A red magatama dropped to the ground. The Time Magatama had been expelled by the entry of Atlas' magic.

He dropped to the ground, clutching his heart. Naruto winced but the pain was bearable due to what he'd endured previously. He could feel the magic container inside him, similar to chakra coils, adapting and changing to fit the magic injected into it.

10 minutes of pain later and the burning had subsided. The flame dragon could now teach Naruto.

" _What you must do to use fire, is control it. It has so many properties and uses. It can harm or heal. It is a weapon to destroy or a tool to build. It all depend on your heart. Now, reach inwards and pull out as much fire as you can in one go._ "

Naruto reached inside himself, like he did with chakra and summoned as much as he could, focusing it in his hand. A small flame flickered into life but burned out in a few seconds.

" _Again._ "

He tried again and a slightly bigger flame ignited and burned for a little longer than the last. As he kept trying, Naruto's flames got bigger and burned longer gradually. When Atlas told him to sleep he said he never slept.

"I haven't slept since I was born, I'm not going to start now. It's what's kept me alive so far. I never give up and never back down. So long as there's people who acknowledge me and believe in me, I'll never stop moving forward, even if I have to come back from the Pure World a million times."

" _Is that so? Then by dawn I expect your whole hand covered in flames, I'm counting on you._ "

"You can bet on it."

True to his word, the next day Naruto had achieve the goal.

"You wanted my hand covered in flames, look."

Naruto held up his left fist and roaring flames wrapped around it, setting his hand ablaze. He was untouched by the flames.

" _Well done, it took me at least two days to get that down. Now, demolish that boulder._ "

He swung his flaming fist at the rock and struck it as hard as he could. A small crater was left behind after the blow.

" _I said demolish it, not dent it. If this keeps up, I wonder if any human guild will take you in, being this weak. Now, again! Until there is no boulder left! It's called Hellfire Dragon Blaze Fist for a reason._ "

"Is that a challenge Father? 'Cause you really shouldn't have. Hellfire Dragon Blaze Fist!" Naruto swung with his right hand this time and obliterated the rock he was striking.

" _Next. This would seem ridiculous but when you find out how useful it is, you'll be happy you're able to do this. Eat my fire._ "

"Uh... You got a screw loose or something?"

Atlas ignored the question and spat a fireball onto the remains of the boulder.

" _Pick it up and eat it. No objections._ "

Naruto, certain this dragon was a bit messed up in the head, picked up the fire anyway and swallowed it. It scalded his throat but, for some strange reason, energised him.

"Why do I feel stronger, I ate fire! Flippin', burning hot, fire! The hell did you do to me?"

" _That magic you now wield, it grants you the body and power of a dragon, namely mine. You can not only eat fire, but power up doing so or replenish your magic. However, there is a certain restriction. You cannot eat your own flames or higher ranking flames, such as God Slayer flames. Mine are edible however._ "

"Can I eat other Fire Dragon Slayer's flames?"

" _Yes, but be careful. I had problems in the past with consuming other Dragon Slayer flames._ "

"Alright, what's next?"

" _Unlike my fellow dragons, I intend to teach you all the Dragon Slayer Arts instead of making you master one to move to the next. You can perfect them by yourself, since I will not have time to teach you them all to that point. Work on these arts in your spare time. Now, Hellfire Dragon Talon. Instead of igniting your hand, ignite your foot and use that instead of a punch._ "

Naruto complied and kicked at the boulder for the rest of the day. When the evening came, he sat at the cave entrance. It had been two years since he'd arrived at the cloud, half a year since he'd graduated the academy and accidentally used the chakra from the bead the sage had given him to cross over into this world called Earthland.

He'd learned so much in so little time, he couldn't keep up. Maybe for once he could rest for awhile, take a break. Entering his mindscape, Naruto met up with the fox that he'd been trying to help.

" **So, you've returned. Come to brag about what that half-dead dragon is teaching you about, fleshbag?** "

"What happened to you? You used to help me and be there when I need you but you've become more angry and hostile over the course of a day."

" **I've been reminded why I hate humans. You have become a coward Naruto, you fled the world you swore to save. And in doing so, you have betrayed my trust. You should be thankful that I am still restrained by this cage, for I would tear you apart. That is enough reason. I am the living embodiment of hatred once more, I will never trust a human again. A snake is more trustworthy than a human. As soon as this seal is weak enough, I'll tear through and rip you to shreds just to prove that point. Now, begone!** "


	5. The Path of a Dragon Slayer

Dropping, to the ground, Naruto's flames died. He couldn't keep going. With the constant income of new techniques, his magic could only take so much. Now he had three spells but they were exhausting to do repeatedly, especially with the amount of failures he had for each spell.

Wing Attack was the fourth spell he'd been taught and Naruto was trying so hard to get it right. He just couldn't shape the flames of two hands into streams.

" _If you can't do it, take a break and come back to it. Not all Dragon Slayers can perform this spell, I know for a fact Weisslogia's son can't do it. He told me himself. It's time for lessons anyway._ "

As ever, Atlas was being overly concerned about his health.

"Dad, it's not I can't do it, it's I just have trouble shaping it. It just goes all over place like a youngling's attempt at a breath attack." Naruto smiled. He'd had to get used to several differences in terms that dragons used. Youngling was the same as child, hatchling meant baby or toddler. A drake was the equivalent to teenager.

He'd also reverted to his proper physical age, now being 9 years old in body. Atlas had first complained, saying he was much cuter as a 4 year old but went along with it.

" _Alright, name the first Hellfire Dragon._ "

"The first was Avrae."

" _That's right but there is a story that's been passed down through generations of Hellfire Dragons. The story says that Avrae was originally the son of the Fire Dragon King but grew jealous when his brother was chosen over him to be the next King because of the older brother's natural talent and ability. He tried to overthrow his brother at his ascension ceremony but his father killed him and cursed him, telling him to go to Hell. And go to Hell he did._

" _When in the Underworld, he experienced horrific tortures and punishment. So much of the liquid fire that kept sinners going was forced down his throat that his soul shattered and his fire was tainted by the evil of the place. Repenting his sins, he was moved to the Plains of Endless Nothingness. As he was different due to his exposure to pure darkness, he retained his memories and being unlike the others before him._

" _Using his newfound powers, he challenged and pinned Death, long enough to escape the fiery abyss. Once he broke out of Hell, Avrae's spirit wandered until it found his corpse. It was a skeleton with no flesh or skin. Every living part of it was gone. Entering his old body, it erupted in dark flames, being made purely of the Fires of Hell, and he travelled to the Fire Dragon King's home. Upon entry, he saw his brother had become king. Their father was old and sick, clinging to life._

" _When his brother demanded his name, Avrae said, 'Brother do you not recognise me? I have returned, not for your throne, but to apologise for my jealousy.'. The old King told him to leave and he flew away in disgrace. Later in his life, he sired a son and gave everything to him. As Avrae did so, his very existence was consumed by his son._

" _To this day, there has been an unset law that there can only be one Hellfire Dragon. If a second is born, the victor of a Dragon's Duel will be the one to live and kill the other._ "

"That's... Slightly disturbing."

" _Indeed. When the time came for Dragon Slayers, there was only one human chosen, most of the other dragons had multiple students. There was one other dragon that had the 'always only one' rule. The Black Dragon. It taught 10 humans and one of its Slayers not only killed the others but the dragon that taught him too. You already know about him._ "

"Acnologia. The Black Dragon of the Apocalypse."

" _Yes, an obscure part of the story suggest that a dead Black Dragon was the one that transformed Avrae. This seems more likely to me. Now, who is the present Water Dragon?_ "

"Levy?"

" _Close, it's Levia. To teach you more about wizards. My knowledge may be out of date but I do know that the fundamentals don't change. Recap, now._ "

"Wizards are people who use Magic to help in their work. Most are dependant on guilds, groups of wizards who, if a guild war occurs, will fight for their guilds. That's all you taught me."

" _True. Now, amongst the guilds, one in particular stands out. A guild that has been around for several hundred years. This is Tartaros. It's master is E.N.D, the strongest demon created by Zeref. He is an Etherious and, a Fire Demon. My friend and mentor, Igneel the Fire Dragon King, failed to destroy him. But he did not fail out of weakness, but out of choice._ "

"Choice? Why would he spare E.N.D?"

" _He did not make his reasons known to his fellow dragons. So, until he reveals why, we do not know._ "

"How many Dragon Slayers are there?"

" _That's a hard question. There are several dragons unaccounted for after Acnologia went on a rampage. Out of the dragons I know of, Ziriconis is dead, Levia has disappeared, Starlight the Dark Dragon I don't know, Igneel is raising his Slayer, Baragon the Earth Dragon is dying of old age, Grandeeney the Sky Dragon found a human too. Metalicana the Iron Dragon is raising a very impetuous brat called Gajeel, Motherglare the Adamantine Dragon is the same as Levia, Weisslogoia you already know, Skiadrum the Shadow Dragon was teaching a human last I heard. The others I have no idea._ "

"So how many do you think?"

" _I'd say around six, well six true dragon slayers anyway. Those artificial ones created by Dragon Lacrima are not counted amongst them._ "

Naruto thought this over, he was one of six Dragon Slayers. Maybe there were other ones his dad didn't know about but that was still quite a small number. His thoughts were interrupted by Atlas.

" _Now, back to reading and writing._ "

"I feel like a little kid. Why do I have to learn this stuff?" Naruto was bopped on the head by the dragon.

" _Because you need to be able to read and write. And you are a little kid. If you think this is bad, you should see Igneel's son, he only knows a few food words right now._ "

"Seriously? Only food words?"

" _Much like Igneel himself, the child is impatient and reckless, quite dense too. He would eat metal if he was told by Igneel it would make him stronger._ "

Naruto and Atlas broke down laughing. A dragon teaching a human about food was funny enough, but the kid was gullible enough to eat metal when he wasn't that element did it.

" _Now, what does this word say?_ "

"Demok? What the hell is this crap? Hey, this ain't easy for me ya fiery lizard! This is like, wrestling a muddy boar! At least with Dragon-Tongue I don't have to write it!"

" _It translates to demon._ " The Hellfire Dragon sighed internally. ' _This child is really starting to try my patience. Yet at the same time, it's fun watching him. Is this what it was like for you Zephyr?_ '

"Oh. The next one is... Doragon. That's easy, dragon!"

" _Good, you may have noticed you have been reading but you haven't understood the words afterwards._ "

"Kinda. Sorta. What you trying to say? That I'm stupid?"

" _No, I'm not saying you are stupid. You are hardheaded and a bit dense some of the time but..._ "

"Hey!"

" _... You're far easier to teach than Igneel's brat is._ "

It was true. Igneel had been moaning about how his kid had been bugging him to teach him the 'really cool' stuff. Atlas had laughed and pointed out he had been the same before Acnologia brought him down several pegs.

" _What I was trying to say was I looked into your mind with my telepathy and reconfigured the part of your language that deals with reading and writing. The characters in this world slightly differ from your world's but they are more or less the same, there are only a few differences. And you don't know how to write anyway, you can read basic words, not complex. You need to be able to read and write complex words to be a wizard._ " Atlas finally managed to get his point across.

"Wait, you've been in my head? What the hell man?! Do you have any sense of privacy?! That's my head!"

" _Calm down ya brat!_ " The Flame Dragon smashed him into the ground.

"Sheesh, ya don't just go into someone's head Dad. At least tell me when you're gonna do something like that, I bet the other dragons aren't like this." Naruto groaned, rubbing his head.

" _No... They're worse. Be glad your not Metalicana's student. He's strict as hell. Trust me, you don't wanna make that dragon mad when you live with him._ " Atlas chuckled.

" _When you do, life becomes a living hell for a while. Now then, if you don't want to learn how to read and write, you can go back to working on your magical control. It seems to be quite fun for you. Besides, you need at least moderate control for most of the others spells._ "

"Fine."

Naruto forced himself to his feet and lit a flame in the middle of his hand. The idea was he was supposed to change its shape into a different form. Right now he was aiming to make it become a ring.

'Gah! This stupid spell! Why's it gotta be so hard to learn?!'

' _ **You know, you could just ask that dragon for help you little imbecile.**_ '

There went the fox again. When he actually was sociable, he was downright rude and didn't even care.

'He said he wants me to learn this one on my own, the rest he's going to give me a helping hand, and don't diss him furball!'

The flame expanded but he still couldn't make a hole through it. God damn fire control sucked to hell and back!

' ** _Are you really that stupid? Use those accursed eyes of yours!_** '

'Wait... They can copy magic too?'

' _ **Obviously. But it is unique to you because you understand and can control magic, those other Uchiha can't. As much as I hate that man, being Madara's grandson has a few special perks for you. Now get on with it and leave me alone!**_ '

'Sweet! Sharingan!'

The red eyes of the Uchiha blazed. Right now, his only had two tomoe in the left eye and one in the right eye but it was good enough for now.

"Dad, could you show me the spell again please?"

" _Sure, watch._ "

Atlas gathered magic in his wings as Naruto watched. With the Sharingan, he could see the mechanics of the spell. The dragon cast his spell, obliterating a massive bolder in the process.

'So that's how it works. He gathers magic in his wings, that'll be hands for me, then released it in streams, similar to a whip. It's meant to be a destructive spell, I was doing the opposite by trying to control it completely. I think he wants me to one day be able to control the explosion. My go.'

"I'm gonna try again!"

" _Go ahead, see what a second look at the spell does for you._ "

He raised his fists above his head and a dark red magic circle opened. His hands ignited with dark flames and began trailing them. Lashing his arms around, aiming for his boulder, Naruto did his best and put his all into the spell. The fiery whips struck it and an explosion followed. When the smoke cleared, the giant rock was gone, only a few pebbles and stones left behind after Naruto's Wing Attack.

"Awesome! I did it! Thank you furball!"

" _I'm guessing the Nine Tails had something something to do with your sudden ability to use this spell. Care to explain?_ "

"I was such an idiot, he told me I could use my Sharingan to see how your magic behaved when you did it. Then I just had to alter it slightly so it would fit me, being human."

" _Very good, that was an of a Dragon Slayer's equivalent to a dragon's Wing Attack. But what is so special about the magic you and I share is that it can take on the attributes of many things. It can be as good at negating other magic as the magic of anti-wizards, cold as ice, burning hot as the sun, vile as Darkness Magic. That all depends on your heart. Your magic is governed by your feelings, you can't lie to it._ "

"That's... confusing."

" _You'll understand in time. Now, do you want keep going, maybe learn a new spell, or continue your lessons?_ "

"I'd go on... but I'm dead." Naruto groaned, falling flat on his face. "So... tired."

" _Sleep, you need it. Don't worry, I'm here. Nothing will happen to you, no beast is going to break out, primordial or not, I'll shove it back in._ "

"Maybe... just maybe... I can sleep..."

With that, Naruto, having not slept in 9 years, slumbered without fear or nightmares. The Ten Tails may have become dormant, but he still had horrific nightmares. He had to stand by and watch as his mother and sister were killed by Minato, the sealing of the Ten Tails, the 6 years of being hunted, running. He'd been, gutted, burned, had bones shattered, no love at all. Every day the village would try to kill him and Namikaze just stood by and watched.

As Atlas Flame watched over his new son, he reflected on the five weeks the two had shared together. He'd taught the boy magic, learned him the basics of life in Ishgar, the world they were in, and even played with him. Certainly they didn't play normal games, like Tag, Hide and Seek, Hopscotch or any of the other games humans played these days, but they made the most of every moment.

They played games that were both training and fun. An example was Rock Stack as he'd dubbed it. He would toss small rocks at Naruto and the boy would attempt to stack them while catching more. It was game of balance. Sure, no one else would do that but the two found it fun. Fire Toss was their favourite. Using natural fire, made with the constantly raging fire that was in the middle of the cave, the pair would set sticks on fire and throw them around. Atlas had to change the properties of his body so he wouldn't burn them at all. The first to catch five in their mouth and eat the fire would win.

For training, in summer which was the only time of year there was no snow, Naruto had to run around the mountain range for an hour and meditate at the peak. In the pouring rain. The rest of the year, he would do the same but in the thick snow. Down the mountains, a forest was at the base. For some reason, the weather kept changing down there. Instead of the natural eternal winter, spring bloom following a magical disturbance. When he was ready, Atlas would send his son to find out what was changing the season in the forest.

When dawn alighted the horizon outside, Naruto curled up and covered his eyes like a little child, trying to block out the sun.

"Don't wanna get up... Lemme sleep Daddy..."

" _I always knew you were a little kid._ " Atlas said, looking down from his place, lying next to his little boy.

"Huzuur..." The 9 year old murmured something indistinguishable.

"Hezzure..."

" _What now?_ "

"Hellfire Dragon Blaze Fist..." The Hellfire Dragon took a heavy blow to his chin, knocking his head up. The kid was sleep-fighting!

"... Don't you back sass me Itachi... Take it ya veggie weasel..."

And sleep-talking too!

" _WAKE UP YA MIDGET!_ "

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?"

" _I CALLED YOU A MIDGET, GET OVER IT, ITS TRUE!_ "

"I'M NOT A MIDGET!"

" _YEAH YOU ARE! FOR BEING INSOLENT, DO THE WING ATTACK!_ "

"SCREW THAT! GO EAT A TREE!"

" _WHAT'CHA SAY BRAT?_ "

"YOU HEARD ME GEEZER!"

" _INSOLENT LITTLE BRAT!_ "

"FLAME LIZARD!"

" _FOUL SMELLING HUMAN!_ "

"LUNCH!"

" _LUNCH?_ "

"I'LL ROAST YOU AND EAT YOU!"

" _HAHAHAHAHA, YOU COULDN'T DO THAT EVEN IF YOU TRIED!_ "

"OH YEAH? **DUMBASS HELLFIRE DRAGON WING ATTACK!** "

Torrents of hellfire half as thick as a dragons tail arced from his hands and struck Atlas, head on. He drank it up and grinned.

" _Thanks for the snack brat._ " He smashed Naruto on the head again. " _THATS FOR CALLING ME A DUMBASS!_ "

"Ouch! Overkill!"

" _Deal with it. I believe this is what humans call 'tough love', it's normal. Now, the one you've been waiting for. Get your eye thing on if it helps you learn quicker._ "

"It's called the Sharingan." Naruto grumbled, activating his eyes.

" _Details. Hellfire Dragon Roar!_ "

The massive beam of hellfire fired, destroying a whole cluster of boulders. This time there was nothing left, not even a pebble. The rocks had been obliterated.

"Woah!"

" _Now you try, use those boulders over there._ " Atlas pointed at a set in a corner. " _Don't kill yourself while your at it._ "

The boy walked over to the aforementioned boulders and began practising. From what he'd seen, it took a considerable amount of magic to produce one as large as the one he'd just witnessed. Gathering dark fire in his lungs, Naruto fired his first Roar. It was pitiful. He barely made a small stream of the flames come out of his mouth.

'Guess it's gonna take more than that, let's try putting everything into it.' Naruto thought to himself. Shoving about a quarter of his total magic energy into the spell, he tried again.

"Hellfire Dragon Roar!"

This time, the result was the exact opposite of what he'd done last time. The Roar, while sufficiently enough fire, went absolutely everywhere. Crap. And he was supposed to do these consecutively?

"The hell was that? The spell took a quarter of my magic but it went everywhere!"

" _That's because, to focus it the spell, you need to use your hands as a funnel of sorts for the flames. At first anyway. Forgot about that._ "

"No duh genius."

" _Watch it!_ "

"Just try to remember the small details in future Dad."

" _Sure. The reason it took so much is because your magic is still growing. As you use it more and more, you will gain greater amounts of magic. For now, the limit of this spell is 4 times in one day, possibly 5._ "

"Well, let's get trainin!"

 **AN: just to let you guys know, I'm going to be listing the Japanese names for jutsu and spells and other important things at the bottom. Here's this chapters':**

 **Hellfire Dragon Blaze Fist=Gokaryu no Honoken**

 **Hellfire Dragon Wing Attack=Gokaryu no Yokugeki**

 **Hellfire Dragon Roar=Gokaryu no Hōkō**

 **Hope you enjoy, please review.**


	6. Dragon's Life

" _Naruto, time to wake up._ " The Flame Dragon told him gently, nudging the boy awake.

"Okay, gimme a sec." Said child rolled over and sat up. "Don't think I'm gonna get used to hearing that every morning. Morning Dad. What's happening today?"

" _I'm sending you down the mountain. Once in the forest, I want you to find the source of the weather disturbances. Take your time, I don't mind how long you explore for, but, you cannot go beyond the forest. For now, the mountains and the forest are your boundaries._ "

"I was wondering when you'd let me out of the mountains." Naruto got up and stretched.

" _I just believe you can defend yourself if need be. What a parent needs to do is believe in their child. That one thing is the most precious thing in the world. The love of family, it's extremely powerful. It can make you able to take anything, I know I'm no replacement for the family you weren't given but at least I can give you some of the love you truly deserve._ "

"Forget that, all I need is you. Well, see ya Dad. Be back in a bit."

Walking out of the cave, Naruto shielded his eyes from the orange light of sunrise. It was quite beautiful if one took the time to admire it. Life was a wonderful gift. "Well, time to get going." Using the rising sun, he picked his way down to the trees. Sniffing the cold, crisp air, he tried to find a scent besides those of the animals. There was the faint scent of human in the air. Two. Judging by the scent, he'd say the magic that changed the season of the forest belonged to one of the two humans. Interesting.

Leaping atop the treetops, he followed it. It lead him throughout the forest. Once he dropped to the ground, he was able to track it easier. On the way he passed rabbits, deer, boar, any and all kinds of animals you'd find in a winter wood. Finally, the scent lead him to the outskirts of the forest. There was a house standing out from the bleak snow.

The house was simplistically and sensibly built in view of Aba Forest's frigid climate. The door was elevated from the ground and had a small staircase in front of it. The roof was sloped at an extreme angle. Wooden beams could be seen supporting the structure. It also had huge glass windows with wooden grids across them.

Reaching the edge, he placed two fingers against his temple and reached for the telepathic link as he watched a woman and a little girl.

'Hey, Dad, you there?'

' _Yeah, what is it?_ '

'Found the magical disturbance. It seems to be human using magic to change the season of the forest. But their house is next to the forest, not in it.'

' _You want to meet this human?_ ' On his end, Atlas smiled.

'Well... yeah, kinda.'

' _That's fine, I don't want you to have no connection to the human world. It'll be good for you. And maybe you can get actual food and you won't have to live off fire. Go ahead._ '

Cutting the link, Naruto got up and walked towards the house. He'd stopped in sight of the house and people who seemed to inhabit it. Still, he was a fair distance away. Well, no time like the present. The snow around his bare feet would normally given him frostbite or at least the chills but thanks to his 3 months of training in the eternal winter of the mountains, he was able to walk in it, no trouble at all. Also, thanks to that training, he only wore a pair of pants without any kind of material covering his feet and no top, openly displaying the scar over his heart. He was kind of proud of it.

When he was a short way off, the woman turned around, she might have sensed him, and called out into the forest.

"Come out, I know you're there."

Well, now or never. Walking out of the trees, Naruto walked into her sightline.

"Hello, who are you young man?"

"I'm Naruto."

"Shy one aren't you? I'm Suzume, this is Roka." She gestured to the girl by her side when she said her name.

"Hi mister."

"Hi."

"Oh, how rude of me. You must be cold. Come inside, wearing only those pants in this weather can't be good for you." Suzume led the way into the house. It was a cozy little place to say the least.

The interior of the house seems to have at least one vast room. This room contained a sofa near a wall which was dominated by a large window. Pots of plants were kept on the sill and curtains hang at the sides. A coffee table atop a small carpet is present in front of the sofa. Ornaments like chimes are hung near the window.

Shelves ran along the walls adjacent to the sofa, lined with books as well as jars containing unknown substances. A bin near one of the shelves contained a number of large pieces of rolled up paper. Large cases were heaped untidily near the other shelf. The center of the room had a small table with yet another plant on it. A single chair was kept beside the table.

The wall opposite the sofa had a study table in front of it. The table was piled with books and quills and a bin similar to the aforementioned one exists beside it. A goblet and a lamp were also be seen on the table. A small arched window can be seen in the wall, with a potted plant on the sill. The walls of the house have various charts stuck on them. The floor was made of wood and so is most of the furniture. The entire house had an untidy appearance due to the objects strewn on the floor as well as the state of the shelves and the study table.

"This is a nice house." He commented.

"Thank you. You're very polite."

"Yeah, Dad is kind of a bit old fashioned." Wasn't that the truth. Well, the Flame Dragon was around 400 years old.

"Where is this father of yours? I'm not sure he'd be too happy about you wandering around on your own." The female magic user was now sat on the sofa.

"About that, he actually sent me down here to find out what was changing the weather in the forest. He says he hasn't seen anything like it before."

"Well that would be my Season Creation Magic, I use it to change the season of the forest. It's quite beautiful when given springtime, even more so in summer." Suzume explained.

"I would very much like to meet this father of yours. He seems to be very lax on your safety, no offence to you."

"I'll check if it's alright with him if you give me a moment."

"Sure."

Like he did earlier, Naruto placed two fingers against the side of his head, he reached out for the connection. This time Atlas answered right away.

' _So, what's up?_ '

'Suzume, the human, wants to talk to you. Is it okay if I take her up to the cave?'

' _I don't see why we shouldn't welcome our neighbours. It can't do much harm. The only thing that can hurt me is Dragon Slayer Magic and you are incredibly resiliant. Even if she tried to hurt us, you can heal and I am unaffected. But, before you bring her up here, do you sense any magic or presence similar to my own from her?_ '

Taking a moment to sense for anything draconic from the woman, he replied. 'Nope, nothing like you at all. She's clean, so is the girl.'

' _Girl? We'll talk about this later, you can bring them up._ '

"He says it's fine."

"Telepathy Magic? I can see why he'd let you go on your own, he can always talk to you."

"Yeah. Well, follow me." Getting up, the two humans followed the Jinchuriki through the forest up to the mountain. Once at the base, Naruto started scaling it effortlessly, the other two had a bit more trouble. He simply bounded up it like a mountain goat.

When they reached the entrance, Naruto stopped them for a moment.

"Just warning you, my dad can be... very extreme. He doesn't take well to insults or disrespect, especially about those close to him. Careful how you speak around him." Then he lead them into the darkness.

"A bit dark. You live here?"

"Of course. It's lighter up ahead, watch out for the sharp rocks, they're all over the place."

"How'd you avoid them so well then?"

"Let's just say cut feet teach quite well. Here we are." The three walked out into the main cavern which was lit by the large fire. Off to the side was an pocket of sorts in the wall of the chamber. From within, Atlas' voice rang out.

" **So these are the humans. Have fun in the forest, boy?** "

His foster father was doing the strict and guarded approach then, that was fine. He'd just roll with it.

"As much fun as one can have with only animals and trees for companions Father. They wanted to meet you."

" _I'm aware of that boy._ " The Hellfire Dragon lit up his black skeleton with flames that constituted his body. " _And now they have. I am Atlas Flame, the Hellfire Dragon. And you humans would be? Speak or be my dinner._ "

"I'm Suzume, and this is Roka. I am the one who changes the season of the forest."

" _Interesting, a human that can change nature itself._ "

"Not be rude, but you seem to be lacking in parenting skills. Your son is wandering about without supervision in a place that is full of danger, Telepathy Magic is no excuse. He is also not properly clothed, walking in snow with no footwear or a top."

" _Watch your tongue human. I raise my son the dragon way, be strong or perish, adapt or die, kill or be killed. Just as it was centuries ago. Dragon Slayers were created solely to help dragons kill dragons to win a civil war. As such, they were raised no different from a dragon. Naruto is no exception. As a dragon, do you really think I am accustomed to human needs?_ "

"So you treat him like a dragon? Then shouldn't you care for his safety? If I'm not mistaken, a dragon protects its young."

" _That is true, but the boy is no longer a hatchling. He is a youngling, growing into a strong and powerful drake, capable and prepared to kill to defend what he holds dear._ "

"You raise him to kill? How can you call yourself a parent? Killing should be the last, if not not resort at all!"

" _Do._ **Not. _Test. Me. Human. No dragon raises a child who cannot fight without fear of killing to protect that which they cannot live without. Even the gentlest of the dragons, Grandeeney, is willing to kill for the safety of her precious ones. Those who cannot kill, even to save their own life, are killed. In fact, only Grandeeney's child will be unable to kill if she continues as she is._** " Atlas snapped, his voice becoming deeper and more growling. His love for Naruto was giving him back some of his strength that he'd lost to Acnologia's accursed Black Dragon Roar.

And so on went the argument.

Time skip

" ** _Today I will be teaching you your basic advanced state. Naruto, today, you begin to learn Dragon Drive._** "

"Sounds good. What does it do?"

" ** _It is essentially a power-up state. To activate it, draw out all of your magic and send it throughout your body, like you do for chakra reinforcement._** "

Doing as Atlas said, Naruto activated his Sharingan, that now had two tomoe in each eye, and sent magic throughout his body, into his skin, organs and skeleton. For a moment, a mere moment, he felt a surge in power overall. But then it was gone.

"Damn, guess it won't work on the first try."

" ** _Obviously, but that small spike in power you felt. That is what you need, but on a much larger scale. But, since it takes a lot of magic, you should rest before you try again. While you wait, I'll tell you the benefits and risks of Dragon Drive._** "

"Okay."

The pair settled down and Atlas began his explanation.

" _ **Dragon Drive, overall, increases your power to the point where you can stand against a majorly weakened dragon and win or fend them off, depending on your individual power. However, the traits of each Drive are unique to each type of dragon.**_

" ** _Hellfire Drive increases the strength of your spells. But, for me, it's greatest use at first was being able to perform Secret Arts with more power than normal and remain able to fight. After you learn this, I will teach you the second one. While Flame Dragon Fist is enough to damage the scales of the lowest rank dragons, it doesn't have nearly enough power to break right through them. The next advanced spell takes this to the next level but requires moderate control over Drive to remain standing._** "

"Better get back to work then."

Trying again, Naruto channeled his magic and tried to replicate the spike in power. It took over a week but he got it. He could only make it last for 5 minutes but it was slowly improving. Now he was just making it last longer.

"Hellfire Drive!"

A flame-like aura of red and dark colours leaked off of him. Now in Drive mode, he asked,

"How long am I supposed to make this mode last?"

" ** _As long as your opponent stands._** " Atlas told him. " ** _At least one of the Secret Arts I teach you will require a higher state. Dragon Force is recommended to strengthen your spells but you do not learn that straight away._** "

"Okay?"

" ** _Your time in Drive will extend as your magical container grows able to accommodate more Ethernano, thus increasing your amount of magic. For now, all that matters is you can access Drive. Now I will teach you the next Secret Art._** "

"Sweet! Which one?!"

" ** _Flame Lotus: Detonating Hell Edge. The next powerful one spell I have. Over time you will develop your own style and Secret Arts but these are the ones anyone can use._** "

"Alright, how do I learn this spell?" Naruto inquired. "It can't be as easy as the last one."

" ** _No. It requires more control than the last one. Maybe I should just demonstrate it?_** "

"You don't have to! Your condition..."

" ** _You and I are both aware of the risks of me performing spells. Your last Secret Art you shall learn would bring my end closer, certainly. I'll be fine._** " Atlas smiled, even as a large wave of pain rushed over him, so strong it was debilitating.

' ** _If this keeps up, I won't live long enough to see his birthday. He didn't tell me when it was until it had already passed last year. I at least want to be there for one birthday. He'd love to have that._** '

At the same time, inside the seal, Kurama thought someone similar.

" **That dragon is near dead, using that spell would severely shorten his almost nonexistent remaining lifespan. You hear me, right Naruto?** "

"Yeah. Is Dad really that weak right now?"

" **Yes you stupid brat, he's been hiding it from you ever since he took you in!** "

"Can't I do anything?"

" **Maybe, I may know a way to extend his life. Not give it back but extend it. But I would require something in return.** "

"What do you want?"

" **At least once a month... you will use my chakra, if you want him to live longer.** "

"Fine, how do I help Dad?"

" **Feed him your blood. It has the incredibly annoying life force of the Uzumaki and Uchiha running through it. It will share your immense regeneration and life force, as well as tenacity with him.** " The fox's tails writhed behind his form, laid on the ground lazily.

"How much does he need?"

" **A bowl's worth. Now, go you insolent fleshbag. Before I retract this offer.** " The Nine Tails snarled. He closed his eyes and went to sleep again.

"Thanks."

Coming back to the outside world, Naruto did as Kurama instructed, feeding Atlas his blood. Over the course of time, he grew stronger and the pains decreased.

"Dad. Please don't try to act strong just for me, I know you're not well."


	7. Soaring Dragon

Naruto held on tight, shooting through the skies like a falcon. When they evened out, below a cloud, he raised his arms and trailed them through it.

"WAHOO!"

Atlas smiled.

" ** _You see why we dragons love the sky now?_** " He asked. Naruto answered with "Hell yeah!" The former Dragon Slayer rolled his eyes. Kids these days. Then again it had been years since he was a kid so he couldn't talk. Times were constantly changing.

For the last 2 months, Naruto had worked to the brink of collapse so he could perform his Secret Arts well enough to be able to refine them later. Atlas had taught his son all but one of all the lesson he needed. The one he would begin to teach him today was the final one. That lesson was... Dragon Force.

"When will I be able to fly?" Naruto asked, like a little kid.

" ** _One day, you won't just fly. You'll soar above the clouds with unending grace. Like a true dragon. And I hope I can fly beside you._** "

"I'd love that Dad!"

For hours, they flew through through the sky. A roar sounded in the distance.

Out of nowhere, something slammed into Atlas. Naruto was thrown from his back, helpless, falling though the sky. The Hellfire Dragon, seeing his son, falling fast, cried out.

" ** _Naruto!_** "

He faced down, tucked in his wings, and dived. Firing up his Talons, he shot down. Reaching Naruto, he grabbed the boy with one flaming hand and pulled up steeply.

Now, normally such a manoeuvre would tear a dragons wings apart. However, Atlas enjoyed the privilege of being made out of flames except for his skeleton. As such, he wasn't as limited as the rest of the dragons. Regaining his altitude, he faced his opponent.

" ** _You save a human?! I believed he was a snack which I would steal. But it appears the rumours are true. You are not a true dragon! You are an imposter! I knew it! You're a Dragon Slayer, aren't you Atlas Flame?!_** "

" ** _And what of it Ferrous?! There is nothing you can do about it! You know Igneel, Enryūō, had forbidden us Fire Dragons from harming Dragon Slayers!_** " He snarled back.

" ** _Pah! The fool has been influenced by that fleshbag he protects, teaching it our magic! I will no longer stand for this foolery! I will kill you, then that human in your grasp! And then the human who has turned our king!_** "

" ** _You touch my son and you're dead!_** " Atlas roared.

" ** _Die you imposter! Karyū no Tekken!_** " Ferrous thrust forth a fist with fire raging around it. The Hellfire Dragon countered with his Talon, for fear of Naruto's safety. Angered, he unleashed a nasty hit on the Fire Dragon, smacking him with a tail wreathed in hellfire.

" _ **Gōkaryū no Tērurasshu!**_ "

" ** _Arghh! You'll pay for that! I'll scatter your flames to the four corners of the lands!_** "

Naruto snapped out of his shock. That dragon had threatened his father. No one did that and ever, EVER lived to regret it.

"Dad, let me fight!"

" ** _Absolutely not! Ferrous is amongst the strongest of all Fire Dragons. He is on par with, if not stronger than me! However, I fight him, for I was always a shade more skilful._** "

" ** _Wishful thinking Atlas Flame!_** "

"Dad, We're Dragon Slayers! This is what we were born for!"

" ** _You are not ready! You haven't even achieved one of the distinctive marks of a True Dragon Slayer whose training is complete! Let alone them all!_** "

"GAHHHH!"

Naruto kicked his way out Atlas' grip. Falling again, he screamed, louder and louder. At the last possible moment, flames erupted from his feet and he fired up at Ferrous. By some incredible luck, he rammed right into the Fire Dragon's throat, shocking it, as he let loose his Scorch Horn.

" ** _Stupid brat!_** " Atlas cursed. " _ **He never listens!**_ "

Rushing into the fray, the former Dragon Slayer saw something completely unexpected, even for his high expectations of the boy. Something he recognised.

" ** _Dragon Force?! But I haven't taught it to him yet?_** " He was astonished. Even that was an understatement. Scales rushed from the fingertips of Naruto's left hand and spread all the way up his neck, across half his face, one or two just past the bridge of his nose . " _ **No! This feels different! It's like he's in the middle of a... a rampage caused by anger! _... _!**_ " He uttered the name of the darkest Dragon Slayer technique.

Another thing caught his attention. Things weren't going his way right now!

' ** _Damn! It had to be happening now! I can't afford for Naruto to find out about that!_** '

" ** _I'm ending this now!_** " He bellowed. " ** _Metsuryū Ōgi: Shiranui Gata: Guren: Supairura Doragon!_** "

Twisting as he fell, Atlas began a violent, lightning fast rotation. Driving into Ferrous, he aimed to kill him in one blow. A massive explosion. After it subsided, Atlas and Ferrous fell and hit the ground, many, many metres below. When they hit the ground ground, Naruto fell out of Atlas' hand again and rolled on the ground, finishing near Ferrous.

"It's... over."

" ** _... I will admit... That one hurt!_** "

Ferrous rose. Atlas remained motionless.

" ** _But now I am gonna kill you fleshbag! Slowly, painfully! NOW DIE!_** "

The Fire Dragon pounced, tearing Naruto's human flesh apart in the most vicious and painful way possible. Or it would of, but for the other dragon that tackled him. The new dragon was bigger than Ferrous. And much stronger. It threw the weaker dragon back and stood protectively, poised to strike, in front of Naruto.

" **Ferrous! Have you forgotten the law against harming Dragon Slayers?! Do you mean to anger me?! Anger Igneel?!** "

The dragon that had saved Naruto's life was the Fire Dragon King! Igneel!

" ** _Those fleshbags aren't worthy of our magic! They are parasites!_** "

" **For slandering mine, Atlas' and my son's names, I will destroy you.** "

Igneel charged into Ferrous, not giving an chance for the lesser Fire Dragon. Grabbing its wing as, the flying reptile attempted to take off, he wrenched hard. The wing was torn off and thrown aside.

" **You're not getting away.** "

Holding the Fire Dragon by its throat, Igneel gave him a painful but quick death. He plunged his hand into Ferrous' chest, grabbing his heart. The flurry of fire that erupted from his hand burnt the Fire Dragon's innards to ash.

" **Karyū no Saiga!** "

He pulled his hand out of the cauterised hole and dropped the corpse. Igneel sighed.

" **He never agreed with me.** "

Atlas awoke then. Seeing Igneel standing over the clearly dead Ferrous relieved him. It seemed that his king had come for him. Igneel swiftly chopped Naruto on the back of the neck with his tail, knocking him out, so that he could talk without restraint. The scales faded away and the boy fell into unconsciousness.

" **The time is nearly upon us. Has he learnt everything?** "

" ** _Nearly everything, he still hasn't achieved Dragon Force._** " Atlas answered.

" **That complicates things. We don't have long until** ** _that_** **time is upon us.** "

" ** _He does know Drive. The two are fundamentally the same, he can learn it in time._** "

" **That sounds like wishful thinking Atlas. I allowed you to move him out there, away from civilisation, so that he could learn faster without distractions. You took a huge risk today, that is unacceptable. You should have stayed in that cave. He still hasn't realised you moved him. He needs access the Dragon Force for the plan to be successful.** "

" ** _Please. Give me a little more time. I'm begging you Igneel._** "

" **A week. You have one week. Teach him in that time. After one week, I will summon you with my Enryūō no Otakebi, regardless. You don't have long left but you will live long enough if you force his Dragon Force to activate. But you must hurry, the Dragon King Festival approaches.** "

" ** _Thank you. I will have meet your expectations._** "

Naruko crept, silently, across the corridor, to her brother's room. Nine months. Nine months had passed since her brother ran away in the night, without any indication. As she walked into his room, she looked around. Everything was tidy. There was barely anything on the shelves. There was a knife, seemingly stabbed into the wall.

Going over, she say a piece of paper, folded up, pinned by the knife. Taking out the knife, Naruko laid it on the dresser below its place in the wall. Unfolding the paper, she read it.

 _Naruko,_

 _If you're reading this, then you actually care enough to find out why I ran away. This was written for me by my new foster father, for I was never taught to read or write by our parents._

 _Why do you think yourself so above me? Why do you hate me so much? What kind of sick, twisted pleasure to you get by torturing me, day to day? Why do you enjoy telling your friends to bully and shun me? Are you happy that I'm gone? Do you feel proud of yourself? I've asked myself these questions countless times over the years I languished in the prison that was my life. But they made me realise something I should have know long ago._

 _I hate you._

 _That's right. I despise your very existence. I always have. My darkness. My pain. My agony. My suffering. My spite. My hatred... of you. So in return, hate me. Despise me, now and forever. Maybe now you will feel a mere fraction of what I endured in all those years. Just one thought. That was all I had the two years leading to the moment of my escape. One thought. And it was..._

 _I was never loved. And I never loved._

 _I thrived on that thought. Hatred itself is my existence now. From the bottom of my empty heart, I sever all ties to your family and village. I have chosen my path. It leads into the darkest depths of Hell. If you believe you are above darkness, continue to tread you straight, narrow path of 'light' and 'purity'._

 _Attached to this is a letter for your father. Give it to him so he may know my path too._

 _From the brother who never loved you,_

 _Naruto Flame_

She sobbed. And screamed.

Naruko's scream woke up the entire house and the parents ran into Naruto's room, seeing her weep into one of the shirts he left behind. When they asked her what was wrong, she wouldn't answer, just kept weeping into the shirt. Minato found the two letters on the floor. He skimmed through the one Naruko had read then opened the second one. It read,

 _Namikaze,_

 _I know everything. Your plan to make me a weapon against your enemies. I'm not a fool, that's your job. I remember everything. From my birth, to the masked man to the sealing of the Nine Tails. I know everything. My life is my own. Not yours._

 _You arbitrarily sealed my will, without thinking of the consequences, you instantly decided I was worthless as a son at my birth. All I was good for was a way to control the chakra of the Nine Tails, wasn't I? You took everything from me so I've taken things from you. I escaped your control and stole your prized Flying Raijin and Rasengan, all the Uzumaki Sealing Scrolls and inheritance I should of had. And a copy of the Forbidden Scroll. You are worse than the Hyuuga, placing seals to control my very actions and will._

 _The Nine Tails says I'm far too forgiving of person. But, even in the bottom of my void of a heart, I can say all you and Kushina ever gave me as parents was broken heart! I hate everything that personifies you! One day, I will take everything from you as you did me. I wish you were dead!_

 _Hating your guts,_

 _Naruto_

 _P.S: I know about Grandfather._

 _P.P.S: Always wanted to say this, SCREW YOU!_

The letter dropped to the floor as Minato flashed to the place where records of every jutsu were kept, Hidden Leaf original or otherwise. What Naruto had said was true, the scrolls containing his prized Flying Raijin and Rasengan were gone! As were several Lightning Style, Wind Style and Water Style! Even... Kakashi's Chidori!

Kushina picked up the letter and read it. Their son hated them! Her breakdown was instant, and she was crying alongside Naruko. Her lament allowed her to look back on the night he ran away. Why had she only warned Minato of attack? Why didn't she stop the fight? These questions tormented her for hours. Naruto's face and eyes during the battle, as one-sided as it had seemed, had been pure hate and longing for freedom. He was willing to give up his right arm for his freedom. That was proof of how far he was prepared to go. She was a terrible mother. And she might never get a chance to say she loved him.

He was gone, maybe forever. And he went hating them. He had claimed his path led to the deepest depths of darkness. Was he that angry at them he would give his own life away?

Waking up in Atlas' new cave Naruto saw the storm outside. The landscape had changed and they were now out at sea.

"Where are we Dad?"

" ** _Out at sea son. You weren't safe where we were._** "

"I don't understand, why would Igneel appear now of all times? Doesn't he have his own Slayer to raise?"

" ** _He does, but as the Fire Dragon King, he has duties beyond his own son. You have your own concerns my son. It is time you learn Dragon Force. But I will be speeding it up for you. But I also need your oath._** "

"My oath?"

" ** _A Dragon Oath. The most unbreakable. A Dragon Oath that you will do what ever I tell or ask of you. No matter what. You know the words._** "

"I, Naruto Flame, swear upon the Lost Magic I wield and the blood of dragons before me, I will follow the guidance of my father, Atlas Flame, without question from this day forth."

" ** _Good. Get some rest, you learn tomorrow._** "

Staring out to sea, Naruto saw the raging whirlpools. They seemed angry. The rain fell heavily, like he'd never seen before. It was like the sky wept and the sea longed for something it lost. Whirlpool. Uzushio. The dead home of the Uzumaki, the Land of Whirlpools.

A waterfall covered most of the entrance to the cave. He was peering out around it, but now he stood. Naruto put his head under the waterfall and raised his right hand.

'This arm. It's been three years since I got it. It makes me think of my real arm, probably in some display case at the Leaf. Makes me think of what I left behind.'

Diving though the waterfall to the slippery rock outside, he used Tree Climbing to walk up to the top of the massive sea stack where they were. Once on top, he spread his arms wide and took it the rain. It pattered and splashed against his skin, leaving little rivers running down his bare uppers half and feet. The rain. The tears of the whirlpool.

Lightning crackled in the sky above, mirroring his hand. The sound of chirping birds echoed in his ear. Within the dark storm, the Chidori illuminated the spot where he stood. 1,000 birds chirped away.

But, in the rain and the storm, nothing, no sea creature or sea life, saw his own tears. He liked the rain. Because no one could see him crying.

 **AN: Here's the first part of the the Christmas Special. One thing I have to ask you guys. Would you prefer me to use the Japanese names for spell, jutsu and the like? I'm fine with it but I really want to know.**

 **Karyū no Tekken=Fire Dragon Iron Fist**

 **Karyū no Saiga=Fire Dragon Crushing Fang**

 **Gōkaryū no Tērurasshu=Hellfire Dragon Tail Lash**

 **Metsuryū Ōgi: Shiranui Gata: Guren: Supairura Doragon=Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Hidden Fire Form: Flame Lotus: Spiraling Dragon**

 **Enryūō no Otakebi=Fire Dragon King War Cry**


	8. Live by Fire, Die by Fire

" _Naruto, my time is up. This part of me can no longer stay in this world._ "

Tears began to trickle down the boy's face. Naruto didn't want to believe what his dragon parent was saying but he knew it was true. Their time together was at its end.

" _Naruto... Do me one last favour?_ "

"Anything."

" _Eat the fire that I am before I pass. Please, this is the only way I can think of to protect you._ "

"I'd be killing you!"

" _At least if you do, I die on my own terms. Not Acnologia's. Please, do it._ "

"I can't! I can't kill my own father!"

" _Naruto... Don't make me beg._ " The boy looked up at him tearfully. If his Dad was prepared to beg...

" _I will always be with you. You found a way to give me more time with you which I am eternally grateful for but I can't go on. I can't be sealed your body like the Nine Tails has been, I am already too far gone for that. If you truly care, you'll go through with my dying wish. In the Sun Village, the last fragment of my soul lies, watching over the village. When you are ready to kill Acnologia, and only then, come to me. Now please, consume me. I know you bear the guilt for the rest of your life, I'm sorry son._ "

"... I'll do it. I suppose I knew this was coming from the start but I wanted it to last. Our time as father and son. I'll never forget it Dad. You filled the void left by Namikaze as my father and gave me the love I've never experienced. Thanks to you, I have received medicine for my wounded heart and finally know what it is to be human." The tears were now flowing like rivers down Naruto's face.

Atlas shaped himself into a physical body for the last time and embraced his foster son. Naruto snuggled into the hug and held on more tightly than he had ever done before. This was the last time he would experience it.

" _Forgive me, my precious son._ "

"Goodbye, Dad." Naruto sobbed. Then he did it.

The flames that Atlas Flame was made out of were sucked into his mouth and deposited themselves deep inside his very being. In a few seconds, the Flame Dragon that had taught, raised and nurtured him for 3 years was gone. For what seemed like years, Naruto sat there, rocking back and forth, weeping. For seven days and seven nights, he cried himself to sleep.

Eventually, Kurama reached out after that week.

' ** _Naruto._** '

"What do you want Kurama?"

' ** _I have something to tell you. About that drago... Atlas._** '

"What?"

' ** _The method you used to prolong his life. It wasn't meant to keep him alive that long, I'd given him a quarter of a year but he exceeded my expectations. Do you know why he held on so long?_** '

"Why?"

' ** _It wasn't because of you lived that long. It was his own will that anchored him to the world of the living. His love for you allowed him to defy even death, if only for a short time. He never told you but the pain he endured daily was beyond anyone. Yet he bore it. For you. Remember what he told you about when he was sad._** ' Then the fox left him be. Better to let the boy work though his own grief.

Flashback

"Hey Dad, what do you do when you're sad? How do you deal with all the loss and pain?"

" _ **Well, I think of those who died. Died for me. Hisako, stood against Acnologia when he killed the other Dragon Slayers. Kimi, Moriko. So many. But what I do to keep going is...**_ "

Flashback end

" ** _...Stand up..._** "

"Right." Slowly, he got to his feet, obeying Atlas' words from a while ago.

" ** _... Dry your tears..._** " Naruto wiped always his tears with his hand. Those would be the last in a while.

" ** _...Say how you intend go on..._** "

"I'm gonna live a life with meaning... It might take me a while to find that meaning but I'll find it, I won't waste my life. And, if I get the chance, I'll clip Acnologia's wings, permanently."

" ** _... And it will become your will to live... To grow even more._** "

"Thanks Dad... I'll be going now. See you in a while." Then Naruto walked out of the cave and went out into the storm. The turbulent sea winds tossed his long hair about. It ended just below his shoulder blades and had remained snow white over the three years he'd been with Atlas.

"Atlas wouldn't want me to spend my life in that cave. So I'm going to learn more, maybe join a guild. The least I can do is live for the both of us."

' ** _By the way brat, before he died, Atlas gave me a message for you._** '

"What was it?" He asked Kurama, speaking out loud even though he didn't need to.

' ** _He said 'Go to the King and repay the life debt you owe him.' Whatever that means. I'm taking a nap._** '

"Thanks furball."

Naruto jumped and landed on the sea. Atlas had flown here he assumed. He couldn't fly yet but he could walk on water. He'd walk to the mainland. Time to get going. Step by step, he approached the continent of Ishgar that he'd been told of. He could walk there fine, maybe one stop along the way to rest, but he had now way of finding his destination. For hours upon hours he walked, without stopping once. When land came in sight, he almost sighed in relief.

Extending his senses, he searched for magical signatures of fire nature. Finding so many, he groaned. This was gonna take forever at this rate. Changing his senses to filter out human magic, he searched again. At last he found was looking for, and it was within Roaring distance. Fun fact. Dragons had two Dragon Roars. The breath attack and the long distance communication one. He used the second Roar.

A commanding roar followed his own. His will was sharply wrenched. Naruto didn't fight the foreign power but let it take control. His body moved, like a puppet on strings, blasting off the sea with flames from his feet and flew a long distance. He was a comet. Kind of fun. Until he landed.

Actually, crashed was more accurate.

Naruto landed, face first in the ground, in the middle of a forest. Still being controlled, he ran into the forest and kept running. He kept running for a few minutes until he burst into a clearing and control of his body returned.

" **Good to see you Naruto.** "

"Seriously Igneel, could you have ordered me to avoid landing on my face? It kinda hurts ya know!"

" **Details.** " The Fire Dragon King shrugged. " **And quiet down ya brat, Natsu's sleeping and I rather prefer him that way. He's not constantly bouncing around when he's asleep.** "

"I see now why Atlas hated when you would use your War Cry on him. And how was I the only one who answered the call? Aren't there other Fire Dragons?"

" **The others were slaughtered by Acnologia, Ferrous and Atlas were the last besides me. Care to explain why Atlas dumped you on me?** "

"He's dead."

" **I'm sorry. He is a good hearted person and a true dragon, no matter what anyone else says about him. So... he sent you to me so I could take care of you.** " Igneel scratched his chin with a claw.

" **Taking care of Natsu is manageable. And Atlas told me you are better behaved than Natsu by a long shot. I can take care of you both. Fair warning, I am more lax and less pressuring when it comes to training, mostly because Natsu is so young, he cannot learn like you have. But, do you know your advanced states?** "

"Yes. I can access them both. Atlas taught me he knew. Let me guess, Natsu hasn't learnt his yet?"

" **Of course not, I don't know how to teach him them. That's probably why Atlas rushed you to learn your advanced states.** "

"Just how far is Natsu from completing his training?" Naruto sat down next to the dragon.

" **You'll find out tomorrow.** "

Sure enough, he found out the next day. To say he was disappointed was an understatement on so many levels.

"Come on Igneel! Teach me the awesome stuff!" Natsu was an excitable, hyper kid of 10 years old and just wouldn't calm down. The little boy had slightly tan skin tone, black eyes, spiky pink-colored hair, and has abnormal sharp canines that were common among Dragon Slayers.

"I must admit Igneel, even for a Dragon Slayer of Natsu's power, Brilliant Flame is a bit low level even don't you agree?" Naruto questioned.

" **Quiet Naruto. Unlike you, Natsu doesn't have the luxury of having entirely completed his training as a Dragon Slayer. And, since you two don't feel like practising Brilliant Flame, you can spar. Naruto, while you're at it, assess him.** " Igneel smirked. That would teach Natsu.

"All right! Fight me Naruto!"

"What do you think Igneel just told us to do?" Naruto sighed and sank into a battle stance, ready for Natsu's attack. He'd been told the child was impatient and always rushed in headfirst, never thinking about the consequences. He was proven right, the brat rushed straight in with a flaming fist.

"Fire Dragon Iron Fist!"

"Hellfire Dragon Blaze Fist!"

Dragon Fire and Flames of Hell clashed in one explosion. Both came out grinning.

"So you use fire too? Sweet!"

"This should be interesting. Show me more! Make me work for victory in this dance!"

"Dance? You're weird!"

"You can't even talk."

Naruto followed up with a wordless Crushing Fang and Talon. Natsu sprung back with a vicious breath attack. For once, Naruto actually felt the effect from inside the flames.

"Fire Dragon Roar!"

But Natsu's streak of good was at its end. The fire was sucked into Naruto's mouth, via his Flame Dragon Lungs. Natsu's face was priceless. The boy couldn't seem to form words. Igneel laughed in the background. Natsu whipped around and had a go at him.

"Hey! This ain't funny Igneel!"

" **No, it is not funny. It's hilarious!** " The red dragon chuckled. " **You wanted to learn 'awesome stuff', Naruto has completed his training, he knows the 'awesome stuff'.** "

"That's just cruel! Why you do this to me?! I'm gonna.. ACK!" The boy was cut off by Naruto's flaming kick to the face. Natsu was sent tumbling and turning, rolling to a stop in the dirt, covered in scratches. There was also a few grazes on him. Naruto reprimanded him.

"Never lose focus in a fight! It can get you killed! Any other opponent would have already crippled you!"

"Fire Dragon Sword Horn!"

Natsu head-butted Naruto in the stomach with fire enhanced head. The effect was minimal. A swift, normal kick sent him tumbling again.

"Never aim for the stomach with a horn attack! It leaves you too open to a counterattack just like the one I just used! Come on, get up! Try harder! Fight like your life is on the line!"

"Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" Natsu rushed forwards but his punch was caught by Naruto, effortlessly. But, Natsu had something up his sleeve. Well, he would have if he wore a top. He was shirtless, like Naruto.

"... and Roar!"

The breath attack engulfed the two. Both emerged untouched.

"Nice move. But never make the assumption that your opponent is always hurt by your magic! For all you know, they might be immune to fire too!" Naruto socked the pinkette in the face, hard. The sharp blow sent Natsu stumbling. And he'd only used his left hand for that punch. A jerk on the boy's arm brought him back.

Naruto had kept hold of his hand. And then used it to throw him.

Natsu hit a tree with a loud thud. The look of pain on his face showed Naruto that it had bothered him quite a bit. That would have to be amended.

"That hurt you jerk!"

"You're a Dragon Slayer, not a little kid! Get up! That shouldn't even phase you!"

"You really are mean!" Natsu got up and ran at him again. "I'm gonna pummel you!"

"That's the spirit!"

Naruto caught, blocked and dodged every single one of Natsu's blows. His determination was a surprising change from the little kid who had complained just a few seconds ago. The real surprise was what happened next. A fireball flew at Naruto's face.

" **Brilliant Flame? But he couldn't do it before. So how can he now?** " Igneel asked himself. This was interesting. " **So Natsu performs better under pressure.** "

Naruto drank up the fireball, frustrating the younger Dragon Slayer.

"Argh!"

Fire blasted out from Natsu's body, forming a shroud of flames. The Mantle of the Fire Dragon.

"I've had it! Fire Dragon Wing Attack!"

The resulting explosion was as large as the explosion from Naruto's first successful Wing attack, nastily so. Naruto was actually hurt for the first time in their little brawl. He emerged from the smoke, sporting a burnt shoulder.

'That spell was more powerful than even his Brilliant Flame just a moment ago. This kid... he does have them! The Flames of Emotion!'

Natsu chased after him, smacking him with flaming limbs. Each blow now burnt him.

'His magic becomes stronger and more powerful in response to his emotions. True Dragon Slayer Magic.'

"So you have the Flames of Emotion. But that is not enough."

Naruto caught the next punch with his right hand, the scales preventing any damage from being inflicted. The impact dislocated Natsu's hand. He howled in pain. "This dance is over." Naruto gripped Natsu's hand tighter. The pain increased and pinkette passed out.

Naruto picked up the younger boy and carried him over to Igneel, who was laid on the ground, watching the spar. With a loud 'click', he popped Natsu's hand back into place properly.

" **You dislocated his wrist. Did you have to be so crude?** "

"If he had continued, Natsu would only have been injured further. While fighting someone stronger than him is a good way to become stronger, it is also hazardous to his health. I didn't want to hurt him any more than necessary to make him submit. But, apparently he has your stubbornness." Naruto explain, laying Natsu on the ground carefully.

" **Cheeky brat. Anyway, how did Natsu perform?** "

"To be honest, better than I expected. But he still has a long way to go before he is at an adequate level. That, however, has nothing to do with you. The reason I said that is because he need experience and to develop his instincts, battle focus and, of course, ability to adapt on the fly. Only then will he be strong. I myself also need more experience and time to mature."

" **Well, he is still young. Remember, he is three years younger than you and hasn't been pressured into training as hard as you have. He is also less durable and accustomed to fighting than you, so be careful with him.** " Igneel told him.

"Make no mistake, I'm not going to baby him. He is your son and needs to be able to live up to the title 'Fire Dragon Prince'. But I won't kill him in training if that's what you mean."

" **Good. I'll be teaching him more of how to read and write after he wakes up, I know for a fact Atlas only taught you basic characters. At least there is something I can teach, even if it is only calligraphy.** "

 **AN: gone back to using English as requested. I meant to upload this yesterday but I was busy with Christmas and all. Enjoy and review.**

 **Sparkie**


	9. Abandoned

"Dad… Why did you leave?" Natsu cried. Naruto stood next to him. Both looked at the spot where Igneel had always been in the mornings. Tears ran down Natsu's face. The older Dragon Slayer laid his hand on Natsu's shoulder. He understood what the kid was going through. The pinkette hugged him tight. The only trace of of Igneel was the white scarf of dragon scales that he had put around Natsu's neck before Naruto had fallen asleep last night. The child had just snuggled into it, not aware of what he would find in the morning.

"Natsu… Just because Igneel is gone, doesn't mean he's dead like Atlas. I saw him put that scarf on you last night. There was no indication of him going anywhere."

Natsu grabbed his red jacket-like top, put it on and ran in a direction.

"Maybe Igneel's still around here!"

"He might be. Let's have a look around."

Naruto, having found he could fly thanks to Igneel summoning him a few days ago, blasted off the ground and soared high, searching the skies. Natsu began to search from the ground. The two looked for hours and didn't find a trace of Igneel. Naruto fell from the sky and landed hard on the ground. Damn. He'd have to work on landing.

"I couldn't see him, you get anything Natsu?"

"I can't find Igneel anywhere! Where'd you think he went?"

"Honestly, I have no idea. He could be anywhere by now. Atlas could cross countries in mere hours, and Igneel is probably faster judging by his wingspan and build." Naruto closed his eyes. Time to ask the furball.

'Hey furry, can you do me a favour?'

' ** _If it involves you shutting up, yes._** '

'Can you sense Igneel anywhere?'

The Nine Tails was silent for a moment and then answered.

' ** _No, it's as if he's disappeared from the face of the continent. You'll have to tell the brat, now go away fleshbag!_** '

"I can't sense him either, he's not within my range, I can tell you that much Natsu."

Natsu started crying again. Naruto awkwardly wrapped his fellow Dragon Slayer in a hug. Patting his back, he did as Itachi had years ago. He tried to reassure Natsu.

"It's okay. We'll find Igneel. However long it takes, I will help you find him. I swear."

But Natsu was too emotionally overwhelmed to respond. After a while, the two got up and began to walk to the nearest town. Given he was in no condition to walk, Naruto carried Natsu on his back. Itachi had done this exact thing for him after he exhausted himself training. As night fell, the two stopped and Naruto, using a kunai and a flint rock he carried around with him, lit a fire for them to stay warm. Well, mostly for Natsu. In the time he'd been with him, the pinkette had always snuggled up to Igneel to sleep. Fire Dragons, and by extension, their Slayers, had high body temperature.

That was also why Fire Dragon Slayers rarely got ill. Their body temperature was so high it killed off most bacteria. **(AN: true fact, bacteria can't function or reproduce in temperatures far beyond their optimum PH, that's what fevers do, they raise you temperature to try to halt bacteria growth)**

"I wonder how Dad's doing." Natsu spoke for the first time in hours.

"He's fine. You'll see. Someday." Naruto smiled and, surprisingly, he actually believed what he said. Natsu would reunite with Igneel someday.

The two set up camp for the night. Natsu feel asleep, clutching his scarf, murmering to himself in his sleep. Naruto listened and heard small bits.

"... Igneel… Is it my fault you're gone… Where'd you go… Will I ever see you again…"

Poor kid. Igneel's disappearence had really been a blow to the heart for him. Then again, hadn't the death of his own dragon parent, Atlas Flame, been the worst blow to his own heart? Knowing that he would never see the fireball of a dragon again had been the worst injury that would probably never heal. It was only made worse by the fact that he himself had dealt the final blow, even if it was putting Atlas out of his misery.

Already, he could feel the guilt eating away at him. It threatened to consume him, looming over him daily. A single, solitary tear rolled down his cheek.

'Atlas… I hope you've found peace. You… were the greatest parent and giver of parental affection I have even known. I'm sorry. I just wish I could of spent more time with you.' More tears fell. And more. More fell until he was full blown crying. Dammit! He'd said he wouldn't cry again for a while and here he was, not even a week later and crying!

'How deep was your love? How much did you care? Defying death for so long… for me? I want to believe Kurama, truly I do, but these questions and feelings won't stop. What did I do to deserve such love from you? I was a boy you barely knew the first thing about. What made you declare me your son that fast? But what kind of son would harm his own father? The only one that loved him? I'm sorry. I'm … so sorry.'

Growls were his only warning.

Wolves jumped from the undergrowth, the bushes, the darkness and surrounded him and Natsu. Dammit! He'd been so wrapped up in his lament that he had allowed them to catch him by surprise! This pack were hunting, and they happened to be the prey!

'Get it in gear Flame!' He told himself. 'Keep this up and you and Natsu will both end up dead!'

Readying himself, Naruto stood over Natsu.

"You want us, it's your funeral!"

The leader jumped. Naruto swung.

A flurry of flames blew away the alpha.

"Hellfire Dragon Crushing Fang!"

The rest threw themselves into action. Naruto responded by burning them all away with Wing Attack. Atlas' words rung in his head.

"Your magic comes from your heart. This magic we share in particular will always reveal you true emotions, no matter what."

'I… truly want… to protect Natsu!'

The magical flames from the Wing Attack responded to his will and created a ring of tall, raging flames around the two Dragon Slayers. The Flame Dragon's Guard. Only those with sufficient magical power and control could pull it off. Amongst the dragons that focused on control, the Hellfire Dragon was the most emotionally reactive. It's magic did whatever the wielder wished.

The wolves backed off a little but didn't retreat. While fire was ingrained in their instincts as something very dangerous, they would just wait for it to die. And Naruto couldn't keep this ring up forever. He'd have to drive them off somehow. What widespread attacks did he have that would deal sufficient damage? None, he realised. So he improvised. Walking through the fire, he tightened the ring so it closely enclosed Natsu. This would be bloody.

Naruto drew his kunai and the chirping of birds filled the quiet night. Chidori blazed in his left hand, the ninja blade glimmered in his right.

"I always wondered what wolf meat was like anyway!" He hissed and struck. The kunai severed one wolf's spine in a swift slash across the neck. It dropped to the ground dead, a clean kill. Somehow he doubted the others would be that way. Another one of the predators leapt at him. He slid under on his knee and rammed the kunai into it's heart. Now all that was left was Chidori. He needed more ninja tools as soon as possible.

He flipped over the next and ran it through the back, blocking another's teeth with his scaled forearm. The tear grated on the closed scales, a horrible sound "That hurts my ears!" Naruto hissed again and gutted it too with Chidori. Wrenching his left hand out of the dead wolf, he faced the other 8.

"Why does life hate me?" He asked and in a few minutes, all but the alpha were dead. Releasing a little of Kurama's chakra, he sent it running into the forest.

"Why didn't I just do that in the first place?"

After checking there were no more thoroughly, Naruto released his Flame Guard. So simple but so helpful. Speaking of helpful, why didn't he sign the Crow Contract when he had the chance? Oh yeah, he didn't want anything tying him down. So much for that idea.

Clearing up the aftermath of the slaughter, Naruto dragged the clean kills, those being the first two, to the fire. Gutting and skinning took a while, especially since he had little experience with it, but he had some meat for breakfast. Breakfast of course, was whenever Natsu woke up. He stayed awake all night, watching over Natsu, listening and watching for the slightest sound, the smallest movement. His nose had a workout that night.

By the time Natsu woke up, he was already almost done cooking the meat. The pinkette was still quiet. When he was done cooking, Naruto passed a piece of the meat to his companion. The boy chewed it slowly and without the usual vigor that filled him at the thought of food.

"Thinking about Igneel?"

"Yeah. Just wondering why he just up and left." Natsu was silent for a bit. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Why did Igneel take you in? Your magic is different from mine so you can't of learnt it from Igneel. What happened to your dragon?"

"You sure you wanna know? It's not pleasant."

"Please."

Naruto sighed. A tear rolled down his cheek at the thought of his foster father.

"My dragon… was Atlas Flame. The Hellfire Dragon. He… took me in after I found him. He said I reminded him of a younger version of himself. He taught me to read and write, about history, the launguage of dragons. But the main reason for him taking me in… was to teach me his magic. Atlas was ravaged by disease, caused by another dragon's magic. He was dying the whole time I knew him. I knew it but tried to forget about it, I was so happy to find someone who actually treated me as a child, a son, that I tried not to think about what I knew would happen. It happened just under two weeks ago. Atlas was dying slowly and painfully, it hurt him just to breath. So… he asked me.. to end it."

"He… asked you to… kill him?" Natsu's face was one of shock, horror and fear. But Naruto didn't let him see his tears.

"Yes. And, I put an end to his pain. It was the only thing I could do to help him. And… the most painful. I'm not going to say it word for word but he said something along the lines of 'If you actually care, end my pain.'. I didn't want to believe his words, at the time, I refused to. But in the end, I consumed him. I killed my own father. As far as I know, there are three reasons he had me kill him. The first was to end his pain. The second you are too young to know and the third… was he wanted to protect me. I don't know what he meant by that."

Naruto's tears rolled uncontrollable now, spattering and soaking the ground. But still he refused to show any sign of weakness. He would not allow Natsu to see his tears of sadness… of fear. Using a miniscule amount of magic, he burnt away his tears. When they were ready to move, Natsu climbed on his back and again he headed in the direction they were headed yestereday. The two were silent for the whole journey. Each night they stopped, Natsu slept and Naruto kept watch.

After a few days, they reached the town and camped close enough that they could get things with ease but far enough away that there were no people around. The next problem was money. Crap. He, nor Natsu, possessed any money of any kind. Well damn. He could go to the Ninja World and get some by using his money from being a Ninja but that would mean leaving Natsu all alone for a bit. Then Naruto mentally face-palmed.

Shadow Clone. Duh idiot.

When Natsu wasn't looking, he silently created a clone and gave it the Time Magatama on the string around his neck. It knew what to do. In the meantime, he had to keep the kid occupied. Well that sucked.

'Can't spar, he's too depressed. He might want to talk some about Igneel but I really don't know. Meh, I'll teach him a little flame control.' Igniting a small fireball on the palm of his hand. Barely focusing, he parted it into a ring.

"How's you do that?"

There you go. Results.

"Control. Practise." Naruto answered without looking. "Lots of practise."

"Can you teach me?"

"Sure. I planned to anyway. What you've got to do first is create a fireball in your hand, not around it." Naruto extinguished his fire ring and summoned another fireball. Natsu copied what he did but in a less controlled form. His fireball was a bit out of shape. It looked like an oversized candle flame.

"Yeah."

"With yours, will it to become a ball. Put all of your focus into it. This will also help you with Brilliant Flame in future."

Natsu tried what he was told and, for a moment, his flame was a sphere. He tried again. The sphere lasted for a few seconds.

"It won't stay."

Naruto smiled. "Don't worry, I had trouble too. Actually, I started younger than you and had more trouble. It's no biggie. Keep trying and eventually you'll get it. Don't expect it to be instant either. Fire is always hard to contain and control. That's why it is one of the strongest Elemental Magics. Because it is naturally consuming, not easily tamed."

"Huh? I don't get it."

"You will someday." Naruto patted the kid on the head. As his clone dispelled, he got the memories. The food and supplies were now in the bag Natsu had gotten. Good.

"How long did it take you to get the fire into a ball?"

"A few weeks. I didn't learn this exercise this way though. I was just to to make a hole in the flame, making it a ring. I'm giving you the steps I found out as I went along. Give it time." Natsu wasn't the most patient of children, that being an understatement on so many levels. In any case, this shouldn't take him all that long.

"Okay, but it's still really hard."

"No argument there pinkie."

"Hey don't call me pinkie!"

"What else am I gonna call ya? Salamander?"

Naruto ignited three fireballs and began juggling them. This was actually considered intermediate control but he did it for fun these days. Twisting with his fire control, he formed the words 'get on my level' and showed Natsu.

"Hey, stop showing off!"

"I'm not showing off. Get on my level Salamander."

"One day I'll beat you!"

"Keep dreaming kid."


	10. Just a Prank

Naruto walked through the town with Natsu on his back. The sun beat down on the pair as they walked through the marketplace, searching for something to eat. He could easily do a quick snatch and run but that would be cheating innocent, hardworking people who just wanted to live their lives without strife. Between them, the pair didn't have a single Jewel. Naruto had some ryo but he was certain they wouldn't take his world's money. Only Jewels worked with the people in Earthland. Looked like he would have to hunt again and, while it was a challenge, it grew tiring. Add to that it took so long to skin, gut and cook the animal he caught, it wasn't really worth the trouble every single day. In the last town, they had managed to get some food for free from a kind old lady who ran a stall but he felt they wouldn't find such kindness here. This felt like the kind of place where, if you didn't pay your way, no one would go out of their way to help you. Oh, the people here were kind. But they were also not the kind to arbitrarily help any random person they saw.

They went and sat in the park, seeing the other kids playing happily, so happy and carefree, ignorant of the world. Naruto felt Natsu shift uncomfortably next to him. He wanted to join in with the other kids, to play with others, to be included. To be acknowledged.

"Go on. I know you want to Natsu. It's fine, I'll be right here. I'll wait for you."

"Thanks Naruto!" The pinkette hugged him then ran to go play with the other young children, joining in their game of tag in a few moments. He looked so happy, as he should be. Naruto felt old for the first time, was this what it was like to see the next generation, the king in life's great game of Shogi? At this point in time, he was a grown man in a boy's body. He had been 17 when he started over after the world had ended. In this life, he had lived for 12 years so far. Overall, he was 29 years old in mind despite his young body. He did feel like the previous generation, and he was watching the new one make its' way in the world, through the struggles and trials. They were so young, so full of life. Kabuto's words echoed in his ears.

" _Kids think life is so easy. Their heads full of dreams."_

Those words, regardless of the intent behind them, were definitely true. Then as they grew up, the hard reality of the world would hit them. Sometimes, childhood dreams were just too naive. He had realised that the hard way. A peaceful world, a kind world full of people who got along and worked together. It might seem radical but he would reach out for it. He had to, for the others who put their faith in him, who relied on him. When he forgot what he was fighting for, they would always remind him. He wouldn't die without at least accomplishing at least a better future for the Ninja World. Maybe it wouldn't be true peace but what he would leave would be an improvement from the war-torn and bitter world ninja lived in.

' _Maybe I'm just losing it but this world seems closer to a true peace than the one I left. Well, at least they don't have constant war and suffering. People use magic for other's benefit in return for the means to live their own lives. I like that. Wizards serve those who can't serve themselves. I wish I could just find out what makes them so different from people in the Elemental Nations._ '

 **'** ** _ **Okay, cut that right out you brat!**_** **'** **Guess who's back. Back again. Guess who's back, tell a friend. Okay enough of that.**

' _Cut what out fox?_ '

 **'** ** _ **Being so… deep and reflective. It's annoying! It makes it hard to hate you as I should! You're such a peace-monger!**_** **'**

' _I like to think I've changed for the better, it's not always the best idea go using violence but sometimes it is necessary. I swear you think everything can be solved by hitting it._ '

 **'** ** _ **Hey! Sometimes you have to hit things a lot! And most of the time you have to blow crap up! Isn't that Dragon Slayer logic?**_** **'**

' _Not mine._ '

 **'** ** _ **It seems to be that brat's logic. When in doubt, blow crap up. That's sound logic right there you wuss!**_** **'**

' _You did not just…_ '

 ** _Oh **yes I did you little toothpick! What can you do about it?!**_ '**

' _This!_ ' And Naruto flooded the seal with the most disturbing memory that he had. Guy and Lee's inescapable sunset genjutsu, the red light and the sea clashing with rocks behind the two hugging, green spandex wearing freaks of nature. The howls of pain and mental torture were music to his ears.

' _Damn I'm a sadist! But I love it! Kurama screaming and frustration vented._ '

Now that his roommate was silenced, he could think about what to do. Natsu wasn't mature enough to understand the world of ninja, he would probably think it was one big game. He couldn't take him there and he couldn't leave Natsu alone for any period of time, he would end up getting into some kind of trouble. He may have only know this kid for 2 weeks but he knew how Natsu tended to act. He had brightened up a considerable amount since Igneel had disappeared. Naruto had taught him to perform Brilliant Flame to an adequate degree without his Flames of Emotion now but he still had a long way to go. Natsu had yet to learn about the myriad of properties fire could have, he probably wouldn't for a while. Naruto couldn't teach him Secret Arts since the kid lacked the magic reserves to perform them and remain conscious. He himself had encountered much trouble learning his own. Flame Dragon Fist required much speed and coordination to perform since it was a barrage of magic-enhanced punches at a single spot. His Detonating Hell Edge had been ever harder still, taking so much time to learn to control and direct so much power and his third and final advanced spell was an absolute nightmare. The first time he had performed it, he had not only destabilised it but burned himself a massive amount. It had taken a whole week to recover from it, even with Kurama's passive healing, Ten Tails residual power and his Uzumaki life force factor. Honestly, he would get nowhere with Natsu at this point in time. He had none of the skills to teach Natsu and would undoubtedly fail to do so while they were both this young.

A scream brought him out of his thoughts. It came from the center of town. His instincts and sense of responsibility both kicked in and he grabbed Natsu, making for the source of the scream. Several buildings had been reduced to rubble by the time they made it to the scene. A large creature was wrecking the town. In the wreckage of one house, Naruto saw someone trapped under the fallen beams. He told Natsu to help people and sprinted over. The person looked to be in bad shape.

"Are you alright?"

"Get me out of here!"

Naruto grabbed the beams and wrenched up hard. His draconic strength was tested to the limits as he used all his muscle power to lift the rubble enough. The woman slipped out and he dropped it, falling on one knee. His arms burned from the strain of lifting practically a whole ceiling off the panicked woman. His eyes drifted to the other buildings. One was blazing in flames, another entirely collapsed. The monster rampaged on. Forcing himself up, he ran to the burning house. A kid his age roughly was out front, staring despairingly at the building. When he saw Naruto, he grabbed him and started to babble.

"Please! My little sister is in there! I don't want her to die! She's too young to die!"

A flash came across his vision. An image from the Fourth Great Ninja War. A building blazing with fire, the people burning inside, screaming as the flames consumed their flesh. His hands balled up into fists. ' _No! Not again! Never again!_ '

He shrugged the boy off and ran into the blazing building, immune to the heat and the flames. He called out, ignoring the smoke. "Is anyone here?! Where are you?!"

A cry came from upstairs. It was always upstairs. For once, couldn't someone be on the bottom floor of a burning building? He kicked off the wall, up through the hole in the floor. The girl was there, across a gap of incinerated wood. Naruto cracked his neck and leapt, soaring over the gap. The little girl hugged his leg, frightened. He picked her up as the ceiling fell in. Being Naruto, he did the only thing he could think of.

"Hellfire Dragon Roar!"

As the burning rafters came down on them, his scorching flames incinerated them whole, bursting out of the roof, seen by all outside as a moderate beam. And no handed too. Pretty decent. The whole house began to collapse. No time to admire his magic. Naruto extended his sensory range and scanned the house. There were 2 other weak magic signatures. There were 2 other living kids in the building. Naruto jumped across the gap and went for them. They were in the back room on the same floor, huddled in a corner, crying over something there. As he approached, Naruto saw the body of another child. He picked them up and the body too and then he realised. He still had to get them out.

Natsu looked at the building Naruto had gone into. He'd been in there a long time now, what was he doing? An explosion echoed as a beam of hellfire blasted through the front of the house but aimed up so it wouldn't hit anything else. Naruto jumped out of the building, landing hard on the ground. He laid the children, dead and alive on the ground then turned back to the house. He closed his eyes, focused and then breathed. He breathed in the flames from the entire house, eating them up and putting it out. He swept the other buildings with his senses. No one was in any of them, no one alive anyway. The collapsed house's residents were dead then. He hadn't been able to save them. He had to stop this thing before it hurt anyone else. He stood tall, his long white hair dancing in the wind.

Then he turned to the monster. A Roar barreled into its' back, scorching its' hide and drawing its' attention. He stood in the middle of the street, all other people running away. His eyes narrowed. This creature was too dangerous to live. He punched his hands together. A flaming fist erupted into existence.

"You will hurt no one else. I will end you creature, here and now." He charged. This wasn't going to an easy fight. This thing was at least on the level of the wyverns he had encountered during the first year of his training. Naruto landed a punch and the fight began. He ducked, weaved, limboed and blocked the creature's claws and pointed tail. This thing was like a scorpion with legs. They had some weird pests in Earthland. His Wing Attack cooked the stinger-wielding monster a little more but that was it. It smacked him back with its' thick tail, sending Naruto flying into the rubble with a loud crash. Natsu moved to join in.

"No! I won't let you be hurt too Natsu! This is my fight."

The walking scorpion rammed into him like a bull, a shockwave echoing all around. But Naruto held it back barely, using all of his Jinchuriki and dragon strength. A growl rose in his throat.

"You are being VERY annoying and are putting innocents at risk. I can't allow that so just DIE!"

He slipped out of being stuck between a rock and a hard place, leaving the scorpion thing there. Standing on its' shoulders, Naruto punched his fists together, a dark red magic circle opening and raised both hand above his head, clasping them together. He brought them down, charged with roaring flames and cried,

"Hellfire Dragon Jaw!"

The blunt impact of the hellfire and brute strength cracked the shell of the monster, making it screech and writhe in agony and annoyance. It tried to shake Naruto off but he was already gone. He was already behind it, yards away. It turned around and screeched at him. Naruto's legs slid apart into a stance, his hands ablaze as he held them behind him at his right side. A fiery silhouette of a dragon appeared behind him as he launched the attack right at it as the walking scorpion charged at him.

"Flame Lotus: Detonating Hell Edge!"

The dragon made of flames transformed bore down on the scorpion thing, a pair of spiralling torrents. Each strike created a searing explosion that continually smashed into the form of his target, breaking through the tough shell, piercing the raw flesh and burning it apart. It emerged frozen in motion, burnt and blackened. It fell on its' front, slain by the powerful force that was Dragon Slayer Magic.

"Don't underestimate a Dragon Slayer."

A middle aged man pointed at him.

"Did you see that?! The kid killed the demon on his own!"

"He's amazing!"

"That kid is a hero!"

The praise slowly built up until he was now surrounded by people wanting to shake his hand, thank him for saving them, congratulate him. It felt nice, to be acknowledged, to be admired. To have protected these innocent people had been a privilege. But he had also failed them, he hadn't saved those who died. Natsu ran over to him a few minutes later as he leaned tiredly against the wall of a house, untouched by the destruction. He had a 1,000,000 watt smile on his face and words just tumbled out of his mouth.

"That was awesome! Can you teach me that?!" There's Natsu for you. Getting way too ahead of himself.

"Maybe some day. You don't have enough magic." The kid's face fell a little. "Tell you what, when I get the chance I'll help you learn them when you're ready." That perked him up.

A moderate height, fair haired man in a suit came up to him. His face was solemn but warm. "Young man. You have saved many lives today. The people of Lily Village owe you a great debt. What can we do for you to repay you and show our thanks?"

Naruto thought long and hard. On one hand, he and Natsu could get whatever they needed right now. But on the other, that would be exploiting these hardworking and kind people.

"Please, it was my honour to have help you folks today. But myself and my little cousin are simply trying to find our way in search of our paths. If it's not too much trouble however, may we have a little food for our journey?"

"Absolutely young man. If I may, are the two of you not wizards?"

"We are, but a special kind. A kind that is very rare."

"What kind, if I may be so bold?"

"We are Dragon Slayers, chosen by our dragons to be the ones honoured with their teachings. I am sorry if this is a ridiculous claim, but we have great pride in what we are." Natsu nodded frantically at this.

"I see. If you are searching for a way to keep yourselves in work, a guild is always a good idea."

"Thank you. I'm sorry sir, I didn't catch your name."

"My bad, I didn't introduce myself. I am Mayor Yagami. Nate Yagami to be specific."

"Excuse my asking Mr Yagami, but which guild, in your honest opinion, is the best?"

"I would say Fairy Tail. Despite their destructive tendencies, they are the most loyal, compassionate people you will find. I think you and your cousin would fit right in there." In the background, people were speaking about their hero and his companion.

"He's a great kid. So brave to have taken on that demon. I hear it was one of the worse ones."

"Damn right, the kid's a hero. What should we call him?"

A young child spoke up. "Oh, I know! The Blazing Dragon!" Doragon o bureijingu

"That's a fine name." Naruto smiled when he heard the child's idea with his ultrasensitive hearing. Blazing Dragon. A great moniker if he said so himself.

A few days later, and Naruto and Natsu were in Clover Town. A large commotion came from a large building just outside the town.

"I swear, if it's another wannabe gang that tries to mug us Natsu, I'm going to hang them from a building via a wedgie." They walked over to the building and saw a purple haired man buried headfirst in the ground. The window a few floors above was open. A voice came down, slurred and clearly very drunk.

"Thash why dou don't badmoush Fairy Tail Jose! I'll sock ya again if ya start whinin!"

A short man with spiky grey hair was leaning out the window. He seemed very giddy and held a large mug of alcohol in his hand. He noticed the pair, Natsu on Naruto's back and their less than proper amount of clothing in Naruto's case. His voice rang out, cheerful and friendly. He seemed like a great person and Naruto sensed no negative emotions from him.

"Why don't you kids come on up, it's cold out. 'Sides, you two look like you've been living in the wilds." Naruto and Natsu exchanged looks. Well, that statement wasn't _too_ far from the truth, hey sure, it wasn't the most elegant way to say it but it quite close. The pair entered the building via Naruto jumping right up onto the window ledge with a big leap. He put Natsu down on the floor and moved so the old man could close the window. Everyone inside was laughing at what had happened to the man called Jose. He seemed to be quite the object of mockery. Everyone in the room was cheerful, holding mugs and engaged in conversation.

"I'm Makarov Dreyar. So kiddos, what's your names?"

"I'm Naruto Flame."

"Hi mister! I'm Natsu Dragneel!"

"Well you two look a bit ragged. You two been on the road long?" Makarov asked kindly. Naruto decided to do the talking, Natsu wasn't really much of a smooth talker.

"A few weeks. In the last town we were in, the mayor recommended Fairy Tail as a guild for us."

The midget master raised an eyebrow over his mug.

"So you two know magic then?" Natsu nodded eagerly. "Care to demonstrate?"

"Sure."

The old man turned around and shouted to to the other people in the room. "Oi! The kids are gonna demo their magic! Let's have a look!"

Natsu ignited his fist, fire roaring lowly as he punched the air.

"Fire Dragon Iron Fist!"

Naruto decided to be a bit more of a show off. Hey, if it was flashy, go big or go home, rule of life. He raised his hands, looked down at them and focused. His whole body ignited with darker flames, his hair lifting up with them, waving upwards. The aura twisted and warped, rising up. A fairly small version of Atlas spread its wings around him and let out a screech, shocking the audience.

"Hellfire Dragon Mantle."

It went out after that. To show off more, he built up some magic in his lungs and eyed the mug in the hand of a man with straw colored hair and a hat atop it. Using the built up magic, he spat a small fireball and blasted the mug out of his hand, his head jerking back from the recoil. Precision, suckers. Who said dragons couldn't hit mugs from an odd 13 feet away? 'Cause they were wrong.

Everyone started laughing and clapping, impressed by their display. Makarov was roaring with laughter, rolling over on the table uncontrollably.

"He got you there Goldmine! A spit shot of fire and you lost your beer! You oughta be ashamed, you had it done did it to ya' by a kid! And you're the master of Quatro Cerberus!"

"Yep, they're some wild kids! And speaking of my beer…" Goldmine turned to Naruto who shrugged.

"It's just a prank bro."

He face faulted. Everyone laughed again, even Natsu and Naruto. Then he fell on his face. Naruto laughed his head off. Who knew a serious sentence could do that.

"Oh my God, dude you just got pranked! It's just a prank bro! I'm immortal! Bow to the Lord of Pranks!"

And then there was one. Jose quivered with rage. He had been knocked out a window, mocked and now these _brats_ were stealing the show. He'd show them! He would prove Phantom Lord was the greatest and Fairy Tail was trash under their feet! Makarov would rue this day!

 **AN: And Naruto gains a title and finally puts his magic to use. Sorry for not updating sooner but I've had a lot of stress lately and didn't have time to finish the chapter. Please enjoy and review.**

 **Spells:**

 **Fire Dragon Iron Fist-Karyū no Tekken**

 **Hellfire Dragon Roar-G** **ōk** **aryū no Hoko**

 **Hellfire Dragon Jaw-G** **ōk** **aryū no Agito**

 **Hellfire Dragon Mantle- G** **ōk** **aryū no Manto**

 **Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Flame Lotus: Detonating Hell Edge-Metsuryū Ōgi: Guren: Baku Jigoku Ejji**


	11. Joining the Ranks and a Nightmare

"This is it kiddos! Welcome to the Fairy Tail guild hall!" Makarov declared with pride, gesturing to the... quaint building that was pretty much a flag waving 'Hey! Fairy Tail is over here, like you didn't know that already!'. The old man was clearly not daunted by the fact that Naruto was a foot and an inch or two taller and proceeded to walk to the doors. The white haired Dragon Slayer had his eyes closed as he felt two presences he knew perfectly approaching, a few minutes away. There were two familiar but foreign signatures along with them, small.

"Excuse me sir, can we wait a few minutes for someone I know to arrive?"

"Sure."

And so they waited. About 4 minutes later the four signatures reached them and dropped down into the street. Three Narutos were now next to Natsu and Makarov. The pair were clearly shocked by both the three Naruto's and the two girls, a single one in the two new Naruto's arms.

"Uh... what?" Was the old man's response.

"A little trick I borrowed from... someone I'd rather not talk about. Shadow Clones. I pumped them full to the max so they would last this long." Naruto explained. "The night before he left, Igneel asked me to take care of the other Dragon Slayers. When he was gone that morning, I, the original, stayed with Natsu but sent these two off to find the two Dragon Slayers I could sense a few miles out. Since then, they've been making their way to meet up with me."

Silence.

"So let me get this straight. You can make perfect clones of yourself that are entirely independent of you and can last a few odd weeks. Anything else?" Fairy Tail's master deadpanned.

"Pretty much. And only I and that person I borrowed it from can do it, so don't bother asking if you can learn it Natsu." Okay, a little lie there, any Jonin who knew the jutsu could do two clones. But he was fairly sure only he could make them last this long and that far away from him.

"AWESOME!" Both Natsu and Makarov yelled excitedly. Original Naruto took the girls in his arms and checked his clones' levels. They were still good enough to last for a day or few. His right arm slashed through the clones' torsos and they dispelled in puffs of white smoke. The memories assaulted his mind but he quickly assimilated them.

So, these were daughters of Grandeeney the Sky Dragon and Baragon the Earth Shaker. Wendy Marvell and Atsuko Cole. Wendy had a cute bob cut of deep blue hair, more vibrant than even a sapphire and a round face. As she bit on her lip, seeing Naruto and the other two, sharper than normal human canines were shown. Her pupils were slightly more oval than circular, a clear trait of Dragon Slayers. She was 5 years old. Naruto gave her a warm smile, speaking softly to her.

"It's okay Wendy, these two are very nice people, although Natsu is always hyper as anything. You trust me don't you?"

"... Y... y... yes... I t... trust you B... Big Brother..." Wendy mumbled, snuggling into his bare chest. Atsuko was still asleep so he didn't have to assure her just yet.

Speaking of Baragon's child, she was almost a forest of color. Her hair was chocolate brown and her skin was a little darker than his own tanned skin. If he had to take a random shot in the dark, one of her parents had been mixed race and the other was white. Her face was round like Wendy's. According to his clone's memories she had forest green eyes that were a nativity of green. She was 3 years old. By his sensor ability, she did indeed have Dragon Slayer Magic in her but it hadn't been used much. She was only 3 after all, Baragon had probably raised her from a baby to her present age. He had at least given her his magic so Naruto would be able to teach her in time but it would have to be off his own style. Pain in the rear.

He gently lifted Atsuko off Wendy and set her down with one arm, holding the toddler in the other. The sapphire headed girl hugged his leg as he stood up and they turned go inside. The master threw open the doors and walked inside, avidly followed/stalked by Natsu. Naruto sighed and followed suit, letting Wendy hide behind his leg.

Inside was a warzone. There were mugs flying everywhere, some people brawling in a corner and all round chaos. It all stopped when the master cleared his throat.

"What were you brats thinking?! Starting an all out food fight..." Okay, scary. "... without me?!"

Naruto felt the overwhelming urge to go over to the nearest table and start smashing his head against it repeatedly with all the force he could muster. No wonder that mayor had said this guild was for the irresponsible and destructive, they had started an all out war in their own hall of all places! Already he was visualising various ways to hang himself from the rafters, stick a kunai in each of his ears and eyes, burn himself to death with his magic and other various forms of self murder.

' _The actual hell?_ '

' _ **Shut up and don't ask me brat! I am trying to sleep here!**_ ' Ah, Kurama, ever the insulting roommate in Naruto's body along with the thankfully dormant primordial chakra entity.

' _I_ ' _d tell you to go do one and stop being rude fox but I am currently envisioning various forms of my own death._ '

' _ **Just shut up!**_ '

' _Well sor ryyyy Captain Grumpy._ '

Naruto stopped spacing out and grounded himself in reality once more. Natsu had followed the old man to the bar where Makarov was reaching under the counter for something. As he did so he was talking to the rosette. Natsu shook his head vigorously and Makarov pulled out a stamp from under the counter. So Natsu wanted to join the guild, that was fine. If they all did, he could keep an eye on the younger fire user and try to raise Wendy and Atsuko at the same time. He reached down and took Wendy's hand and led her over to them, being slow so that she could take in the sight around her with that adorable open mouthed look on her face.

"Wanna join too kid?" The old man asked him.

"Sure. I need to keep my eyes on these 3 anyway and this guild is perfect for that, so long as no one tries to give any of them alcohol yet."

"Hahaha! You're a funny kid."

Natsu took off his red jacket and exposed his right shoulder so the master could imprint the mark on his shoulder. When it came away, a red emblem adorned the Fire Dragon Slayer's shoulder. Makarov turned to him.

"Where you want it and what color?" Naruto took a moment to think about that.

"Hm... I'll take it on my chest on the other side to my scar. As for color... wait, how does that stamp work?"

"Well, you put it on the desired place, push magic into it and think of the color." "Can you put it where I want it and I use my magic?"  
"Sure."

Makarov pressed the stamp to his right pectoral **(Where Gray has his)** and Naruto laid his left hand on it. He pushed the required amount into it and the stamp printed. The old man removed the stamp and it became visible. It was midnight black with what could only be described as a bloody crimson outline. The snow haired boy traced the emblem with a finger. It felt... right. He was proud of his scar that Atlas had given him, it was a permanent memory. The black scorch mark from the cauterised wound had faded over the years and it was now like something had carved a cross into his flesh. If he ran his fingers into the scar, they would actually dip into his chest. No more was the unmarred skin from his childhood.

"Interesting choice."

Naruto nodded in acknowledgement.

"So, are the other two joining the guild as well?"

"Not yet. Neither are old enough for the work of a job. When they reach 10 I'll let them join but until then, they don't join."

"Well since you're technically their guardian despite being underage yourself since their parents left them to you, that's your call. I can sort out things so that you can live together and when you're 18, you can officially take guardianship of them. That is, if you want me to." The master offered.

"Thank you, I'd like that. Until I'm 18, can you be their legal guardian? I don't think I trust anyone else to."

"Sure, how do you think half the kids in this guild get by? I'm their legal guardian by rights. Well, the ones without parents or blood family. Now then..." he cleared his throat again and Naruto quickly covered Wendy's ears to prevent her from getting a headache as the old man yelled.

"Listen up brats! As of today, we have two new members of the guild! Meet Natsu Dragneel..." He gestured for the aforementioned boy. "... and Naruto Flame. Please note that Natsu and the youngest two companions are not allowed alcohol until Naruto deems they can."

Then he let them dissolve into chaos again, getting himself a mug of beer from behind the bar. Natsu and Wendy wandered to the other kids. Atsuko was still asleep in his arms.

"So Naruto, why is it you're allowed alcohol and the other three aren't?" Makarov asked the 12 year old. Naruto put down his mug and spoke.

"You know how those summoning spirits live in another world right?" "Celestial Spirits. And yes, I know that they live in the Celestial World."

"I'm from another world too but one that's not close to this one at all. In my world, there is no magic users, only those who are able to use chakra, an alternate energy. An example of chakra is my Shadow Clone Jutsu. That's a S rank jutsu, only those with large chakra reserves can do multiple ones like I can. As such, instead of wizards, we have Shinobi, also called ninja. As a general rule in the Ninja Villages, once you graduate and receive your headband, you are the lowest rank, a Genin, and are an adult. I graduated 3 and a half years ago and have been considered an adult since."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his Cloud headband. "I am a Genin, have been since I was 8 and a half. As ninja, we take any job for money, even murder. And with that comes the saying 'Old enough to kill, old enough to drink.' As of yet, I haven't had a mission that involves killing. But someday I will."

"That's horrible."

"I know."

A pause.

"So how many clones can you create?"

"Enough for a army, even a legion if I used Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu but I don't really want to since I like versatility. My twin sister can create literally thousands and spams them like they're going out of style. Her whole style revolves around clones, the odd kunai and shuriken, the Rasengan and a street brawler hand to hand style. One of the pluses is that if I give them the ability when I make them, when they dispel, I get their memories."

"Pretty useful technique if you ask me, so many uses."

Naruto looked down at the headband with its folded cloth in his hands. Was he ready to wear it again? The Chunin Exams couldn't be far away now. He had to.

With a sigh, he unfolded the cloth and raised it to his head. He drew his long, snowy spikes of hair back and pressed it against his forehead. Bringing the ends of the cloth around his head, he made sure it wasn't pulling his long hair and tied it with a double knot then let the large white thorns of his hair fall over the cloth, hiding it. His long fringe fell across the metal, obscuring some of the symbol. Now his fringe was level with his eyebrow, if a little longer and overall it was shoulder blade length. Not yet long enough to get in his eyes.

He began to wonder what things were like back in the Ninja World. Yugito had to be waiting for him to come back now, by a few years. Luckily he'd left an anchor back there, a piece of himself. When his arm had first shed the scales that armored it, as all reptiles did, not that he was one, he had left one in a box which was in his apartment. Once he entered the cosmos that Chronus/Time's domain, he could trace that marker and not only land in the world but also in the right time. It had been trial and error and a couple of times he's ended up in random worlds and the odd couple hundred years back to the Clan Wars once or twice. Now _that_ was a pain. Of course he'd have to leave a marker here. That could be another scale, a recently shed one. He had shed it little over a week ago so it would work.

...

"Alright. State your name, likes, dislikes, hobbies and dreams for the future. Come on, it's just a get to know each other thing."

Sharingan Kakashi was their teacher. For Naruko, it felt like her dad had just dumped them with Kakashi since all the other Jonin were taken. He was 3 hours late, used a crappy excuse for being late and said his first impression of them was he hated them.

"Uh, how Sensei?" There went Pink Banshee... sorry, _S_ _akura Haruno_.  
"I'll demonstrate. My name is Kakashi Hatake. I like some things, I don't like other things. My

hobbies... my business. My dreams for the future... never thought about it."

After a round of facepalms and sweatdrops Kakashi happily continued. "Pinky, you're first."

Sakura smoothed down her dress and began. "My name is Sakura Haruno. I really like..." she looked adoringly at Sasuke. "I don't like perverts and the demon who fled the village!" Clearly aimed at the gone for 6 years Naruto. "My hobbies are..." looked at Sasuke again. "And my dreams for the future are..." yet _a_ _nother_ look at Sasuke.

Kakashi sighed and moved on. "Brooder."  
Sasuke 'hn'ed and spoke darkly.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. There are a lot of things I don't like, so there are few things I do like. My hobbies are training and learning new skills. My ambition which I _w_ _ill_ make a reality is to kill a certain someone and find out what happened to the boy he took, not necessarily in that order.

' _Dark much._ ' The copy ninja thought. "Blondie, go."

"I am the great Naruko Uzumaki Namikaze, daughter of the Fourth Hokage! I like ramen and pranking people. I hate the time it takes for ramen to cook and waiting for people! My hobbies are pranking and training. My dream for the future is to find my twin brother, kick his ass until he sees sense and bring him back here!"

' _O_ _kay, so I've got a fangirl, a brooder with superiority, inferiority and avenger complexes all in one and a cocky brat who wants to bring her brother home. Why Minato Sensei, why?_ '

"Okey dokey, meet me at training ground 7 at 6 tomorrow morning for your _r_ _eal_ Genin test."

And then he was gone in a leaf Body Flicker. Naruko left the roof of the Academy whilst ignoring Sakura's screeches about already doing a Genin test. She shoved her hands in her jumpsuit pockets and strolled down the streets to her house, deep in thought, a rare occurrence to anyone who was around her usually. When she got in, she found her mother making lunch. Ever since the Nine Tails incident when she was born, Kushina hadn't been able to return to active duty as a full time Shinobi. Her chakra coils and network had been damaged by the extraction of the Nine Tails, a permanent condition she lived with despite her Uzumaki heritage. Now she worked in the house and did the occasional C rank to make herself feel like she was still a ninja.

Her little sister was sat at the table with a smile on her little face. Tsukiko had been born four years ago and was like a carbon copy of Naruto and her. She shared their whisker marks, albeit closer together, at the edge of her face and looked more like scores in her cheeks than lines, and and sun blonde hair. Her hair was more or less the same spiky but slightly thinner and curled a little, like the ends of Naruko's own hair that she wore in two pigtails with a fair length fringe, parted into three, bangs that went down to her middle whisker marks and a center fringe that was an inch or two shorter, going down between her eyes.

The older girl's headband was tied around her neck, hanging from it. She wore an orange jumpsuit with deep blue from the shoulder up, leading to a thick white collar. Most days she kept it unzipped as it was now and underneath she wore dark brown tank top that exposed her midriff from her ribcage down to her waist. Matching orange shorts followed and her legs were bare from mid thigh down to her dark blue ninja sandals.

"How did orientation go Naruko?"

"Okay I guess. I'm on a team with Sasuke and Sakura and Kakashi is our sensei. I wonder why Dad gave us him though?" She answered, sitting down opposite her little sister.

Kushina moved the pot from the stove and lifted the lid off, letting out the aroma of a soup. She then got bowls as she continued the conversation.

"Well, it's probably because Sasuke might have the Sharingan and Kakashi is the only one who could teach him to use it. That and you, since you're his daughter Minato might have played favourites a little and given you him to make sure you get good training. Why do you say it was okay, it sounds like you got a good team and sensei."

"We had to talk about our likes, dislikes, hobbies and dreams and... you know..."

"How could I forget? I'm sorry for bringing it up darling." Kushina hugged her daughter and the blonde murmured into her hair,

"It's okay Mom. I _w_ _ill_ b ring him home, no matter what Itachi did to him."

It was well know in the Namikaze household that it was Naruko's dream to find her twin and bring him home so they could be a family again. That letter that had suddenly appeared 9 months after he left had been heartbreaking but she felt he hadn't written it and every word was a lie, made up by the rogue Uchiha. Minato had clearly seen the Sharingan on Naruto's eyes the night he was taken, proof that Itachi had controlled him with Genjutsu.

They ate lunch and Naruko went upstairs. But she didn't go to her room. She instead entered Naruto's sparsely decorated room and stood by his bed. To think he had last slept in this bed 6 years ago now. It felt like almost yesterday he had been here and forced to run away. A dark chuckle came from inside her mind. Next thing, she was in her sewer mindscape, facing the cage of the Nine Tails. White sclera and crimson eyes with slitted pupils were the only thing visible inside.

"What do you want, stupid fox?"  
" **H** **e** **hehe... I have something to tell you, filthy fleshbag. A message from my other half inside your wretched brother."**

"Then why the dramatic pause? Tell me!"

" **Patience human! My other half says this to you. Exactly this: 'You will see your twin soon. Await the snow haired dragon in the forest to south at midnight under the full moon, at the zenith of the night when the second exam is over. The dragon shall guide your eyes to your other half.' Now, shut up and leave me in peace you foul creature!** "

"Wait! What does it mean?! The 'snow haired dragon'? The 'second exam'? Guide my eyes? At least give me..."

" **LEAVE!** "  
With a deafening roar, the Nine Tails threw her out of the seal. She was back in Naruto's

room. Sitting on his floor, she began to ponder the meaning of the message in her head.

The first sentence was straightforward. She would see Naruto soon. But the part about the 'snow haired dragon' made no sense, was it someone she was to meet? 'At midnight under the full moon' was a clear reference to the time she was supposed to meet this person or thing. When it was full moon she would go to the south forest for midnight and wait. The sentence 'The dragon shall guide your eyes to your other half.'... While 'guide' her eyes made no sense, 'other half' was definitely her twin, no doubt in her mind. Overall she got the impression this 'dragon' would tell her where Naruto if she met him. But when was the whole thing?

The message ringing in her mind, Naruko made her way to the room she had shared with her twin until they were 5. Then they had been given separate rooms in the estate that was her home. The mobile hung above the crib in the center which had held both of them once, then Tsukiko. On it there were stuffed plushy toads and the symbols of the Namikaze and Uzumaki on small discs. Further into the room was the twin beds, side by side that they had slept in. A memory of the pair of them seemed to fill the beds, the light on as Kushina read them a bedtime story. Naruto had never been interested in them. But then it faded and she was standing in the dark room again. Tears threatened to fall as she reminisced the short time they had together when they were young. 4 years they had been close. Then he started to drift away and Naruko, cursing herself, remmebered her stuck up attitude as she had ostracised him from their friend group.

" _Whoever plays with Naruto won't be my friend anymore!"_

Damn her insensitivity! She knew now that she had pushed him further away, without even trying to reconnect with her twin brother. Then the horrible night when she was told he had been controlled by Itachi to help slaughter the Uchiha Clan and flee the village.

" _Mummy? What's wrong?"_

 _Her response was a sob and being pulled into a tight hug she returned with confusion and curiousness. She didn't want to believe what she heard next. "Naruto has been forced out of the village."_

" _What?"_

" _Tonight. Itachi Uchiha murdered his entire clan, only Sasuke was left alive. He controlled Naruto to help destroy them, your father and I saw the blood all over him, the kunai in his hand. He was holding Satsuki in his arms and crying. I... I think he had broken free for a moment because of what he was forced to do. But the moment Minato tried to talk to him, he changed. He was nothing like what we know him to be Naruko, he was a mindless slave only able to fight and get angry. The Sharingan appeared in his eyes and that's when your father realised he was being controlled. He attacked, no rhyme or reason to it either. He said horrible things and he was desperate I think. An Uchiha trying to get away attacked Minato and Naruto lost his arm. Then he went Nine Tails. He summoned_ **four** _tails and went on a rampage. Itachi appeared, killed the Uchiha and reinforced his control, sending Naruto out of the village. The search parties have gone out but they haven't found either of them yet_. "

He hadn't been in control at all except when he was crying. Satsuki Uchiha had always been Naruto's best friend, even after she turned the rest against him. She had defended him from them and even had Shisui behind her. As her older brother, Shisui had sided with her and protected him, taking them both away. After that, she only ever saw Naruto at some meals, sometimes he didn't even come home until late. Maybe he had been eating at the Uchiha's house, she didn't know. Her blood had stained his soul that night. He had cried tears of blood and been controlled to leave. Going to her own room now, Naruko laid down on her bed, lying on her side with her hair splayed out around her, her headband on the side, without even taking off her jacket. And she lay there, thinking about him for hours. When her mother came up to call her for dinner the blonde, whiskered girl said she wasn't hungry. She wasn't. How could she eat when she didn't even know if her twin was alive?

When night came she slept restlessly, each moment turning over. Her dreams were nightmares, plaguing her.

"You caused this Little Sister. It's all your fault! If you hadn't pushed me away, Itachi wouldn't have been able to control me that night!" And she believed him. It was her own selfishness and attention hogging that drove him away. She made everything about her and left him to try and feel like he was living.

Desolation raged around them, a fiery inferno of a landscape. Buildings were burning, collapsing in on themselves. In the center of it all had her twin, his sclera black and eyes glowing red with slits. Roars came from above and the mythical creatures known as dragons breathed more fire and death down on the devastated city. One landed behind him and screeched. It had the appearance blazing skeleton, roared wings and tail, snarling horns and body. It roared at her from above him and her twin was dragged back by flame whips, lashing around his limbs and torso, dragging him into the thing's chest. His face, full of hatred and anger, was the last thing to go as he screamed at her.

" _ **I**_ _**hate you!**_ "

The dragon imploded, funnelling into his body through a cross shaped wound on his chest. He was taller than her and looked to be the same age. His hair was the color of untouched snow and his burning eyes were marred by knife slit pupils. His right arm was covered in bone white scales and he wore nothing on his chest or feet. He turned into a burning skeleton too, wings and a tail spawning. The same flames as the dragon's body blazed about his hands and he spoke, draconic and menacingly.

" _ **I**_ _**will wipe you from existence by my own hands! This dark fire shall herald your end! Dispair in purgatory as you are consumed by the Flames of Hell! I will eradicate the things you hold so dear and you shall watch everything you love...**_ **B** **URN!** "

"Big Brother, please stop! Don't make me watch this! Stop it!"

" _ **Everything you know will be consumed by darkness! The fears that once controlled me will set all ablaze! My soul is the engine that will burn your world down to the ground! One thought ignites my hatred! I was never loved, and I will never love!**_ "

In the embers of the burning city, all her friends were there, screamed and trying to escape as the hellfire burnt them, scorching their skin and incinerating them particle by particle.

"Please! Don't do this! Stop! Don't kill them, I beg you!" He was so cold it burned.

" _ **Let them burn! Nothing you care for shall escape my wrath!**_ " He spoke words that shook her to the core and would actually say at some point in life.

" _ **Peace is a lie, there is only passion! Through passion, I gain strength! Through strength, I gain power! Through power, I gain victory! Through victory, my chains are broken! The Dragon King shall set me free!**_ "

She woke up sweating. Such darkness! If he had truly fallen into darkness and become that, what hope was there? Then, once again, Naruko cried, hugging her knees, rocking back and forth.

"Please be able to still see the light... I love you... Big Brother..."

 **AN: And that's that. Sorry about the Star Wars The Old Republic reference but I had to slip it in there. Please review and enjoy.**

 **Translations:**

 **Shadow Clone Jutsu - Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**


	12. Waves Return To The Shore

"Come on Iruka Sensei! Give us a better mission! I don't wanna weed someone's garden again!" Naruko complained at her former Academy instructor. He just sighed and consulted with the ninja who oversaw the distribution of missions to see if there was an available C rank. He came back with two scrolls. Kakashi put away his book and had a look as Iruka explained them to the group.

"Okay, what we have available is these two C ranks. The first is to help a caravan of merchants get to the Land of Rivers for their trade season and guard them against possible bandits. The other is another simple escort mission, all you have to do is escort a bridge builder to the Land of Waves and guard him while he finishes the construction of a bridge."

Kakashi, having now read the two scrolls, handed one back to Iruka and kept the second. He we over to the issue desk and got it approved and came back, his weird eye smile gleaming. "We'll take the Wave mission."

"Alright then." Iruka sighed. Naruko was such a pain. Her 'holier-than-thou' attitude from being the Hokage's daughter was just a pain in the ass. But, if one broke through her shell enough, they would find a vulnerable girl who just wanted to find her twin. He had found that out a few years back. "I'll call the client in."

He turned and went through a door and came back a minute later with a… less than fit looking old man who had grey hair, a small beard and a hat. A bottle alcohol hung loosely in his hand and he slurred while standing in the door frame.

"These brats are supposed to protect me? I asked for a ninja escort, not a girl scouts brigade."

"Hey!" Naruko yelled. "Who you callin' a brat you drunk…"

Before she could proceed to insult the old man, Kakashi covered her mouth and grabbed her collar, preventing her from attacking him. He gently bopped her on her head and reprimanded her. "No attacking or insulting the client Naruko. I doubt your father would ever display such lack of discipline, being the Hokage and all. Your mother however, back in the day she might of…"

"Stupid Kakashi." She muttered under her breath. He always was so annoyingly professional but at the same time, lazy as a sheep! Kakashi smiled under his mask. Naruko was much like Kushina had been at that age, at least according to the older generations.

"Alrighty! We meet at the gate tomorrow at the crack of 9. Go get some sleep my cute little minions… sorry, Genins!"

Naruko stuck her tongue out and walked to graveyard quickly. She was visiting a person who had known her brother.

She knelt down at the headstone, tracing the inscription engraved in the stone with a finger, reverently. Satsuki Uchiha. Beloved little sister and daughter. Under that, the dates of her birth and death. Under that earth, the little girl was lying in the cold ground.

"Satsuki… what would you say if you knew Naruto has been forced out of the Leaf by Itachi?"

The Uchiha would probably have gone to give Itachi a piece of her mind. Not that she would have lived through it anyway. Itachi was a cold blooded murderer, he had, on his own, annihilated his entire clan except Sasuke in one night. And, as he fled the village, he had controlled a Nine Tails possessed Naruto to leave too. If she ever met the man, she would kick his ass and force him to tell her what he did with Naruto then leave him for Sasuke.

She looked over at the next grave.

Shisui Uchiha. A perfect older brother and son. He shall be sorely missed.

Shisui had been the one to back Satsuki in her choice to take care of Naruto after her own damned selfishness had hurt him. He had been there, known her brother better than she ever did.

The nightmare she had dreamt the day of her graduation had come back each night and it was still as heart-breaking and painful as ever. Naruto had grown into a thing of anger and rage in that vision. He had burned the Leaf to the ground with crimson flames and the power of dragons had been his tools to do so. But, last night the dream went on longer. A new part had been revealed and she was sure it meant something. It came to mind now.

 _"_ _ **Let them burn! Nothing you care for shall escape my wrath!**_ _"_

And then.

 _"_ _ **Peace is a lie, there is only passion!  
Through passion, I gain strength!  
Through strength, I gain power!  
Through power, I gain victory!  
Through victory, my chains are broken!  
The Dragon King shall set me free!**_ _"_

 _Another dragon, this one much larger and greater than the others who had faded into nothingness now descended from the ash filled skies. It had pure black scales like armor with light blue fire-like patterns over them, a grey underbelly was visible too. It had round, hollow white eyes that showed nothing but a void. A twin bladed stinger tail thrashed behind it. Black scale wings, like a bird's, spanned a massive length with more blue fiery patterns on each solid feather-shaped scale. Four rabbit ear-like horns extended from the back of its' head, three frill scales came from the sides of his head and extended backwards like the horns. 4 powerful limbs came from a solid an equally well built body. The ground cried out in anguish as it landed. It roared and Fire Skeleton-Naruto snarled and pointed at the mighty and lone dragon._

 _"_ _ **His strength will free me from the shackles of the usurper! His flawless sight will give me truth in a world full of lies! I will raze all your father stands for and from the ashes, nothing will ever rise! I may be slave now, but in time I shall become truly free!**_ _"_

He and that dragon had been so frightening that she had bled her lip holding in the scream of terror when she awoke. If that thing was the Dragon King, what did it want? What could such a creature hope to gain from her twin being 'freed'? Freed from what exactly anyway? Little did she know, as she went home to prepare for her mission, her twin was in a similar predicament.

…..

" **Such darkness Acnologia has awakened in you, boy. A Divine Dragon Slayer you may have become, you still cannot kill me. You cannot slay the Fire Dragon King, you cannot slay Igneel.** " A red and cream dragon he remembered was speaking to him. Igneel. An older Natsu stood behind Naruto, his scarf fluttering in the wind. A tattoo of a dragon spreading its' wings with markings leading to it adorned his right arm and the earth itself was set ablaze with intense flames. The Flames of the Fire Dragon King.

"I swore the Oath of a Dragon to see you dead at my feet Igneel. With my eyes opened and my soul freed, I am beyond your control." He found himself saying.

"Peace is a lie, there is only passion.  
Through passion, I gain strength.  
Through strength, I gain power.  
Through power, I gain victory.  
Through victory, my chains are broken.  
The Dragon King has set me free." He recited.

" **You are a fool to face me and Natsu alone. I do not wish it, but I shall destroy you!** "

In a flash, Naruto was flying at Igneel, his hand wreathed in magic that shaped into razor sharp claws. A hand of raging fire reached for his leg from Natsu's right hand as time seemed to slow. Natsu's hand turned and time sped back up, his fire hand seizing Naruto's ankle and flung him backwards at the rosette himself.

Whipping around like a wounded snake, the child of Atlas Flame twisted his body and landed on his feet. His magic claws clashed with Natsu's flaming fists thrice and in a lightning fast movement, Naruto had slashed and was the other side of him, turning around, his magic at the ready.

A single breath escaped the Fire Dragon Prince and he stared in at Naruto in horror, his eyes asking 'Why?' A partially cauterised gash that tore across his bare stomach, one side to the other. The rip exposed his intestines and he fell to the ground, his mode deactivating. Naruto found himself standing over the other fire user.

"Foolish Fire Dragon Prince. You never stood a chance."

Acrid steam rose from the wound and the dream faded, Igneel roaring in grief. Naruto shot up, waking in a heavy sweat. Turning and sitting on the edge of the couch he was sleeping on, he contemplated the dream and took deep breaths to calm himself. He looked to his left and saw Natsu, sound and asleep. He hadn't killed the boy.

This was different to his usual nightmares that occurred nightly. Normally he dreamed of the war of other horrific events of the past life he'd lived, not visions of himself killing his little cousin in a single blow. What did it mean? Was it… a dream of a possible future? If so, how did he stop it? He needed to clear his head. To do that, he had to deal with what was troubling him, and that was the Chunin Exams.

Getting up, he quickly searched for a piece of paper and something to write with. They were staying in the house of one of the members of Fairy Tail called 'Macao' until they got their own place. Natsu was on the other couch and the two girls were sharing a chair with a blanket over them. Naruto finished his note and pulled a high collared shirt with a white spiral over his head. His Uzumaki version of the typical Uchiha shirt worn by Itachi and Shisui in their time together. The ninja pouch with his basic storage scrolls, which held all of his belongings, was on the sideboard and he snatched it up and attached to its' place on the back of his ninja pants in the left. He put his shinobi sandals on and left through the window, closing it quietly after him and he made his way to the guild hall. Since the place was locked up, he entered through a window. His note was left on the bar in plain view and had 'for Master' written clearly on it. While he could now read and write, his handwriting… left something to be desired.

Once he had wedged his recently shed scale into one of the rafters so he could return, Naruto made his way to a dark alley and looked around. No one about. From under his shirt, he took the necklace that had the Magatama on it and held it in his right hand. Raising it in his clenched fist, he focused. The golden light enveloped him and he was once more in the cosmos that belonged to Chronus. Using his arm, he tracked his other scale. The Elemental Nations came to the forefront of his mind and he repeated over and over in his head,

' _Take me to my shed scale in the Ninja World, 2 months before the Chunin Exams my twin sister attends._ '

The energy engulfed him and he was hurtling through an ethereal tunnel back to his home universe. He had been such a coward. He had run from the world, avidly seeking escape after the Cloud saw like they saw Yugito. But with the difference of they feared to strike him, for terror he would kill them like that mob he had 6 years ago. He had thrown up so much after that. But, his own cowardice had led to him having a father for a few years. So, it was a balance out. He just hoped Yugito and the Raikage would see it that way. With one last burst of light, he landed back in Yugito's apartment. His scale was still in that box on the shelf. The door to the bedroom crashed open and Yugito stood there, in her pyjamas, long claws from her fingers at the ready.

' _Well… crap. I hoped to at least have until morning but the cat's out the bag. Haha, I said the 'cat' is out the bag!_ '

' ** _Meatsack… That was pathetic. Truly pathetic. But at least you've grown a pair and returned. Making me send that message for you to your twin, who do you think you are?_** '

' _I am sorry Kurama, I really am. I'm trying but there's still the major part of me that's human still. Well, Jinchuriki-human. My point is, I make mistakes, I stumble and I fall. But I will always get back up._ '

' ** _Hmph._** " Was the response.

"I don't know what you want but… wait, Naruto?"

Back to reality then.

"Uh, hi Yugito?"

Wrong thing to say. Truly, never say 'hi' to a tired, female Jinchuriki who thought you were an intruder not even 10 seconds ago. And especially not at 2 in the morning. A bare foot collided with his head and brought him down to the ground, standing in his skull to keep him there. The needle claws poked into his shoulderblades.

"Hi? Hi?! That's all you have to say after 3 and a half years?! You have some serious explaining to do Naruto! To me, Bee and the Raikage!"

"..."

"What was that?"

Naruto spoke a little louder.

"I said… you're standing on my head."

The foot was removed he could speak again.

"You're as beautiful as ever. And fiery."

Yugito crossed her arms, sitting on the floor next to him. A huff escaped her mouth and she shot back snappily, "Flirting will get you nowhere at 2 in the morning."

"Statement. Not flirting."

A claw poked his cheek. Ouch, sharp.

"I care about the difference why?"

' _Someone didn't get their beauty sleep._ '

' ** _And whose fault is that, you little imbecile? 29 years old mentally and you know nothing of women. Typical Dragon Slayer._** '

' _Oh, lay off!_ '

' ** _Don't make me call the fireball in here._** '

' _She'd be more interested in you._ '

Silence.

"Do you want me to explain or not?"

"No." Yugito snapped. "I want you to go to bed, in an actual bed, and get some proper sleep. When was the last time you slept on a mattress?"

"Uh, never? I never slept remember? Well, until 3 years ago." Thank the Sage there was only the odd few days in a year distorted between Earthland and the Ninja World. Because there wasn't a full on time gap, he could legitimately say it had been 3 years.

"You dumbass! Where have you been sleeping these past few years if it was never on a mattress?!"

"On a cave floor, snuggled up to dragon made of fire, sitting on a stone, standing up, walking. Oh and on a couch for the last 3 days."

"I am 100 percent done with this crap tonight, you can explain, _thoroughly_ , in the morning." The blonde grabbed his wrist and, despite his protests, dragged him into the bedroom, shut the door, chopped him on the back of the neck to knock him out, took off his headband and pouch and put them on the side and laid him down on her bed, crawling in with him. The covers were pulled up to their chins and she snuggled against his shoulder.

…..

9 O'clock in the morning Naruko, Sakura and Sasuke were the gates. Then the unthinkable happened.

Kakashi was on time!

"Yo." He waved, the client, Tazuna, walking behind him. Everyone, even brooder Sasuke, was slack jawed. Then pinkie… sorry, _Sakura_ pointed at him, screeching.

"YOU'RE ON TIME?!"

"Did you really think I would miss my cute little Genins first C Rank? And for future reference, lower your voice Pinky, I don't think they heard you in the Land of Iron."

"Can we just get going?" Naruko whined, really wanting to see the outside world.

"Nah, we're still waiting for one more person Naruko."

Speak of the Devil and she will appear.

Just as Kakashi said that, the fifth ninja turned up. Kushina, in the regular Leaf Shinobi gear, except for a sleeveless version of the top turned up. Her hair was put up in a ponytail, her headband tied around her head and a katana across her back. Sakura screeched again, Sasuke raised an eyebrow and Kakashi eye-smiled at the appearance of the Hokage's wife turning up at the gates. Naruko just couldn't speak.

"Mom… what… why…"

"I'm not missing your first C Rank young lady! It's time I went on a mission again anyway. And I left Tsukiko with Hana so you can't say I have to stay to watch her either."

"Hana?! You left her with dog-breath's sister?! She's gonna be acting like a dog by the time we come back!"

"Nonsense, she's a cat person."

"That's worse!"

The two Uzumaki argued, going back and forth, not even noticing the others sweat-dropping behind them. Eventually Kushina just gave her daughter a good smack on the head and they set off. They would have gone at running pace but they had a civilian with them so they couldn't go leaping through the trees like they usually did, they had to go on foot. The road ahead was long and they were walking. Boredom awaited. Naruko decided 'why not?' and tried to mentally speak with the fox as she walked.

' _Hey, you awake in there, furball?_ '

' ** _I am the Nine Tailed Demon Fox, Power Incarnate, eldest and greatest of the Nine and I will not be spoken to in such a way! Show some reverence you ingrate!_** '

' _Reverence? Nah. Respect? Probably never. Attention? Sure._ '

' ** _My other half got the better end of the deal when they got your twin who actually shuts up. Why I had to be sealed in you, I will never know._** '

' _You know what Naruto is like?_ '

Inside her head, Yang Nine Tails cackled a truly evil laugh. It reverberated off the wall of the seal and sent shivers down her spine.

' ** _And look at that! My other half knows your twin better than you do! How much that must hurt! The irony is too sweet, I'm throwing up. You want to know what your brother is like? Fine, I'll tell you what my Yin half has told me he is._**

' ** _He is a pariah in every sense of the word. He could never find anyone except those damnable Uchiha who could accept him. Good riddance to them. Ever since he was 3 years old, he was aware of and able to speak with my other half. How do you think the Yin me knows him so well? They saw through his eyes, felt his suffering and rage, his hate hidden under a mask of emotionlessness. And you know the real kicker?_** **You** ** _are what deepened his hatred. He despises humanity as he should, he sees truer than any other finite being can. And he defies all odds against him, breaks every chain and limit of humanity._**

' ** _Even death cannot claim him. He is haunted by the Shinigami, cursed never to die until his body fails of ancient age or is entirely obliterated. Stab him through the heart, he'll tear for yours from your chest even as you live. Cut off one arm, he'll grow a new one, twice as deadly. Until 3 and a half years ago, I was able to talk to my other half. Then they went silent. That is, until I heard that message._** '

' _And what do you make of that message then, if you are so old and wise?_ ' She thought to it. The reply was blunt.

' ** _On the night of the full moon, a person or thing with white hair will appear in the mentioned area of the forest and give you a hint about your brother's fate after he was controlled. I'll tell you these two things to shut you up. One, your twin is alive, if he wasn't, I wouldn't be able to heard that message from the Yin me. Two, his seal is far weaker than the one on you that holds me. It seems he has made regular use of my other half's chakra._** '

' _Thanks, for telling me that. Is there really any difference between you and your other half?_ '

' ** _It is far darker, and its hatred runs far deeper than my own. Other than that, we are the same._** '

' _How much darker?_ '

' ** _Put it this way, girl. Your twin was once like you, petulantly upbeat and stubborn to a fault. But he has weakened the seal so much, has allowed so much of our nature to seep into him, that he is no longer the distant but caring older twin you knew. He has become utterly different. He doesn't really know how to truly express love anymore, all he can show is cold rage and his warped sense of love. He is a paradox now, the more he loves, the more he and others get hurt so he has done his best to numb himself. But everything is relative. He has learnt to have pride in his strength, and respects those worthy of it. And, there is something that has pervaded the concept of Jinchuriki since the first one._** '

' _What's that?_ '

' ** _By having one of the Nine sealed in your body, you are no longer 'human'. I would say it another way by saying to call you 'human' is technically and genetically incorrect. Jinchuriki isn't just a term, it's a subset, a branch species of humanity that takes on the aspects and genetics of their Tailed Beast tenant. The stronger the bond between container and contained is, the less 'human' you are. Just thought you should know that you can't call yourself 'human' anymore._** '

Naruko returned to reality and caught the question of Sakura to her mother.

"So, does Wave have any ninja Lady Kushina?"

"No." The redhead woman replied. "Wave is a small nation and, since it's so close to one of the Hidden Villages, it doesn't need them. But there was a ninja village not too far from Wave, a couple miles out to sea to the north. It was called the Whirlpool Village in the Land of Whirlpools."

"Really?" Pinky didn't want to stop the geological discussion.

"Yes. It was my home, the home of the Uzumaki Clan. It was destroyed in the Third Great Ninja War and very few to none survived the attack. I only lived because I had left several years ago to go to the Leaf."

It went on. Geography had been her most boring lesson at the Academy but she had paid attentions so she would know the layout of the Elemental Nations. They trudged on down the path, the dull walk to wave lightened little by the peripheral conversation of the others. Naruko just couldn't find anything they said to cheer herself up so she wallowed in her own thoughts.

' _Big Brother… I wonder where you are in this vast world. What are you doing right now? Do you have anyone who can understand you? What did Itachi force you through? Will I ever see you again? The questions don't seem to stop. All I want is a chance, a chance to see you again and say I'm sorry. You don't have to forgive me but I want you to know I'm sorry. If what the Nine Tails tells me is true, you've lost the little ability you had to express any love you had and you confuse love with hate and vice versa and you've become proud of your own abilities. Has the darkness of your Nine Tails changed you so much because of the weakening seal?_ ' Her thoughts were cut off when Kakashi yelled,

"Hit the deck!"

He dragged Tazuna and Sakura down with him as a massive sword went hurtling overhead. It flew until it chopped deep into a tree and a person landed on it. The group got back up. The person standing on the extremely long handle of the blade wore bandages around his neck and face as a mask, his headband, of the Mist and with a score across it, sideways and a long pair of pinstriped pants. Kushina was the first to recognise him.

"Everyone be extremely careful, that's the Demon of the Bloody Mist, Zabuza Momochi."

"Oh, someone recognises me." Zabuza chuckled. He took a closer look at them, inspecting each ninja. "Well holy crap, it's the Red Hot Habanero and Sharingan Kakashi. This should be fun. Mizu, Gozu, tear the brats to shreds!"

Two more missing ninja, the Demon Brothers, leapt from the trees and right at the Genins. Kushina and Kakashi were forced to engage Zabuza so they couldn't help the kids. Sakura essentially stood in front of Tazuna with a kunai, doing jack all as Sasuke and Naruko took a Demon Brother each. They were forced to duck, jump, sidestep and weave in and out of the clashes from the metal claws just to keep their heads attached to their bodies. Claws clanged against kunai and sparks flew.

Kushina and Kakashi were having little more luck. The redhead had drawn her sword but her ninja skills were not what they once were. Her reflexes had atrophied, her reaction time decreased, her physical strength was lesser and her speed was that of a regular Jonin, not the lighting speed that had earned her the fearsome reputation as the Red Death. Her swordsmanship was rusty too, out of practise and had lost its deadly edge that had decimated the forces of Cloud, Stone and Mist in the last war. She used to dance with the grace of the wind, now she was as fluid as jelly, each movement forced and halting. Her sword was barely able to fend of the overbearing force that was the Executioner's Blade, coupled with several water clones and it difficult for her to get a strike in. Kakashi, despite his Sharingan, was unable to keep track of Zabuza in the mist he had summoned. They were playing defensive because they couldn't attack.

Lightbulb!

"Wind Style: Fog Sweeper!" Kushina cried, blasting the mist away. That jutsu had taken more of her chakra than she would have liked but the Red Death was happy with the result. Now they could see their opponents. Plural because there were 9 Water Clones and the original revealed.

Naruko and Sasuke stood back to back facing the two Chunin level rogue ninja. In this desperate situation, they put aside their differences and worked together. Sasuke whispered, loud enough to only Naruko would hear him. " _Demon Windmill, Version B._ "

She nodded in acknowledgement and they both pulled Demon Winds from their respective packs. They snapped the weapons into their open states and gripped carefully. This plan would take a fair bit of coordination and communication between them. Sasuke lead, hurling a handful of regular shuriken at the one in his line of sight. They clanged against the gauntlet and he threw the Demon Wind, letting it curve around and wrap a reel of wire around the missing ninja, Naruko doing the same to her opponent. Both jumped overhead and kicked the Demon Brothers together, took out two shuriken each, one tied to the other on a fairly long wire. One shuriken was thrown each side of the targets, the other one the other side and the two wires bound them together, tangling and tying them up. The pair high fived at Naruko's insistence.

"Too soon to celebrate brats!"

Zabuza had Kushina in a Water Prison attached to his left hand. He wove seals with his right and a Water Dragon rose from the water. Kakashi had to jump away and abandon rescuing his sensei's wife for now in order from protect his team.

"Damn, he got Lady Kushina!"

"Mom!"

Zabuza chuckled at the blonde's exclamation.

"Oh isn't this cute? A little girl trying to play at being a ninja. Brat, clearly you know nothing of _professionalism_ since you basically just declared that this woman is your mother and gave an enemy information that can be very valuable in a battle. Now you've got a couple of choices here little girl."

"Zabuza!"

"Oh piss off Kakashi, the girl's legally an adult. Let her make the decisions for once and stop being a prick." The massive sword wielding ninja cleared his throat. "As I was saying, you've got a couple of choices. One, you can try, and fail, to rescue your mommy and I kill you all. Two, you can just give the old man up and let me take his head so I can get paid and you lot get to go free and alive, Hokage's wife included. Do what's it gonna be kid?"

Naruko's mind raced. There had to be some trick right? He wouldn't just let them go as easy as that. Not the Demon of the Mist, Zabuza Momochi. Her eyes widened as she remembered what she had in her pouch. There was a kunai in her pouch, but not just any kunai. A tri-pronged kunai with the Flying Raijin marking of her father, the Hokage, on it. He'd given one to her when she became a ninja incase she got in some serious trouble that even Kakashi couldn't bail the team out of. Well, no time like the present. Quickly, she reached into the pouch behind her back and pulled out the kunai, stabbing it into the ground and channelling chakra into it. A distress beacon.

"I think I'll take option three, thanks!"

A few seconds passed and then, a yellow flash gleamed in front of Naruko. A white coat blew in the wind as the man landed in front of her, much to the surprise of everyone. He had spiky blonde hair with bangs that framed his face, tan skin and an emotionless yet confident look showed on his face. He wore a lightish blue attire tied at the cuffs with unrestricting brown cords woven in and a white coat with red flames highlighting the bottom. It had a high collar and written on the back in kanji, the words _第四代目_. In the common dialect, it would mean _Fourth Hokage_ but the literal translation would have been _Fourth Fire Shadow_. This was Minato Namikaze, the Yellow Flash of the Hidden Leaf Village, and, Naruko's father.

"Zabuza Momochi I presume. Your should know very well… never anger the Flying Thunder God who can cut you down in one minute flat." His voice was calm yet held the barest hint of anger.

' _Oh crap!_ ' The Demon of the Bloody Mist knew he was in over his head now. ' _I am so screwed, that's the Yellow Flash! I don't stand much of a chance against a Kage who stood against a Tailed Beast and came back alive. Not go mention he turned the tide of the last war by slaughtering an entire battalion of over 1000 in 30 seconds and was barely phased. He went head to head with the Raikage and the Eight Tails Jinchuriki alone and came out on top._ '

A Flying Raijin kunai soared through the air and Minato teleported to right in Zabuza's face. A deft kick met the missing ninja's face and he was stunned, unable to block the slash that followed and a line of blood spurted from the cut. But the Yellow Flash was already gone, teleporting back to Naruko with Kushina in his arms. He put her down on the ground and turned back to Zabuza, who was holding a hand to the cut he had made. It had been so quick, there was no blood anywhere on Minato himself, nor his kunai. Then he was gone.

He appeared, crouching on the water below Zabuza. Minato placed his formula mark on the Demon of the Bloody Mist and kicked him in the air where he teleported behind the airborne Zabuza and hit his target with a Rasengan, knocking the rogue ninja down towards the ground, where he then teleported again to the falling opponent and used his charged Rasengan to slam him into the water, creating an enormous shockwave.

"Flying Raijin: Sequence Stage."

Zabuza struggled to remain on his knees, the dance of speed having decimated him greatly.

"Damn you…"

Two whistling objects whizzed through the air and stabbed Zabuza through the neck and he went absolutely limp, collapsing face-first into the water. A hunter ninja of Mist landed next to the floating body, lifting the sword before it could sink beneath the surface. He turned and addressed Minato in an emotionless and polite tone.

"Thank you for bringing him to his knees Fourth Hokage. That made my job much easier. I must take the corpse and burn it, the Executioner's Blade will be coming with me back to the Hidden Mist once I am done. Once again, thank you for your help."

Minato nodded and walked to shore, leaving the hunter ninja to take off in a Body Flicker. Now everyone relaxed.

"Kakashi, you're getting rusty if you couldn't hold your own against an A Rank missing ninja, be he a Swordsmen or not. You should consider getting back into your Anbu training routine."

"Yes Lord Hokage." He replied, covering the Sharingan with his headband once again. Kushina sheathed her sword and got up off the ground, rubbing her hands off on her pants. Naruko and Sasuke were just dealing with it while Sakura had just gone absolute suck up.

"Oh my gosh, that was amazing Lord Hokage! What combo was that? When did you perfect it? When did you come up with it?" The Yellow Flash simply ignored her and turned to Kakashi again.

"Why didn't you fail her and ask me to sort out a suitable replacement?"

Now _that_ made Sakura's jaw drop. The Hokage had just… Naruko let a small smile cross her face at that and Sasuke let out an amused grunt. Kakashi just shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"Uh, she reminded me of Rin?"

"And this is why civilian children are never ready for the life of a shinobi, teachers at the Academy are too lax. I'll have to up the standards when I get round to it."

Ohhhh, harsh. Now he actually paid attention to Sakura.

"Tell me, do you diet?" A shaky nod. "Do you spend at least half an hour in front of the mirror each and every morning on makeup alone?" Another nod. "Tell me this, why do you want to be a ninja?"

Her response was timid and frightened. "I… I want to impress Sasuke… and marry him…" One track mind much?

"What is the most important value of a ninja?"

"G… good looks and impressing people that are powerful…" Minato's expression turned as cold as ice.

"Those are not the answers of a ninja but a naive schoolgirl with a ridiculous crush and equally pointless and unrealistic goals. If you think looks is what being a ninja is about, then you are not fit to wear that headband or call yourself a ninja of the Leaf Village. To protect and serve from the shadows, _that_ is the true essence of what it is to be Shinobi. Every and all things are regardless compare to the value of the village, the next generation of shinobi. Shinobi are soldiers for a noble cause, not models or idols. A shinobi who seeks wealth and attention is no shinobi at all. If you do not change your futile efforts in becoming a ninja, I will see to it that you are dropped from the program, _permanently._ "

Even Sasuke felt that was taking it way too far just to make a point, the amusement gone from him and Naruko. Tears were rolling from Sakura's eyes now, entire waterfalls. In such a short speech, the Hokage, the leader and hero of the village, had crushed her dreams, taken them away from her, stomped on them and left them in the mud.

Inside Naruko's seal, the Yang Nine Tails chuckled.

' ** _Ohhh, so cold. That must hurt, to have her dreams spat on by the 'hero' of the village. Even I wouldn't go that far. But, what's done is done. Let that be a lesson to you, brat. Don't let your dreams get bigger than your head, when they're crushed, it will just hurt even more._** '

' _I've always known that. But… that was just outright cold, not just knocking a little sense into her. Father took it way too far. Was he always this harsh?_ '

' ** _You really didn't notice? He's always been like that, ever since I was sealed in you, if not longer._** '

…..

Stormy blue eyes opened, many, many miles away. The eyes of the Dragon Slayer took in the moonlight, the sparkling stars and the black of the night sky through the window. He sat up, gently sliding his fellow Jinchuriki off himself and back down onto the mattress. His hand opened and a crimson flame ignited in the palm of his hand. Impossible as it seemed, a face seemed to twist into shape inside the hellfire.

" _Hello, Father._ "

The flame danced about, doing so in the most mesmerising way. The face faded then reappeared.

" _As much as I try to move on, I know I can't ever be whole again. A part of my heart died with you Father, a part I'll never get back. It's been a month and a half already… when will this pain dull? When will the guilt stop gnawing at my soul? I consumed you, and I hate myself for it. I will never forgive myself for what I have done. Your final wish… will haunt me forever… I hope someday I can see you again._ " Tears rolled down his face.

" _Dammit! I thought I was over this! I swore not to cry and I've broken that vow many times. Just as well I didn't make the Oath of the Dragon. I miss you Father, and I love you, even more in your death. I will do my best to keep moving and not look back, but I will stumble, I will fall. Please, bear with me, as I make my way through this contradictory life. The more I love something, the faster it is taken away. Please, give me strength to continue!_ "

His magic extinguished and he laid back down, letting Yugito unconsciously hug him to her chest in her sleep. The tears just didn't stop now that he didn't have to be strong for Natsu. He had forced himself on, hiding the pain inside and only told the boy he had ended Atlas, not the circumstances in which he had died.

Crimson eyes, the eyes of the heart glowed in the dark. The Sharingan span once in his eyes and, for some reason, it burned his eyes. To stop the awful feeling, Naruto cut all chakra to his eyes and the feeling faded a little but didn't go away, his turbulent blue orbs stinging. His training with Atlas had advanced his Sharingan to two tomoe at this point in time. But instead of the standard advancement order of the Genjutsu tomoe, Ninjutsu tomoe and finally Taijutsu tomoe, the order of his was muddled a little. The Genjutsu tomoe had been the first to emerge. In retrospect, it was probably the eye of Shisui, implanted in Itachi's crow, that had pushed that one to the surface first. Then Taijutsu had awakened in his time with his adoptive father, the physical orientation of a Dragon Slayer probably the cause. The Ninjutsu one had yet to manifest since he had not witnessed much Ninjutsu since awakening it a week or so before the Uchiha Massacre.

Then his head hurt. A ghost of a memory long suppressed, a single word escaped his lips.

" _Satsuki._ "

He laid down to sleep once more and, through the tears that clouded his eyes as they closed, a fiery orange blaze replaced the darkened blue of his draconic eyes. In the deepest corner of his being, a similar fire blazed through a slit in the darkness for a moment before the shard of blazing color vanished. Inside his veins, the blood of the Hellfire Dragon was greatly diluted still but slowly, cell by cell, it was changing his body, making it stronger, tougher, more dragon-like. In time, the humanity would vanish and the only left human would be his memories. In the deepest slumber, Dragon resided inside Dragon Slayer. But that slumber would grow lighter and lighter until it awakened once and truly. Until that day it slept, ever so slowly waking.

The seed that was the magic he wielded would become a majestic dragon the overtook him and he would dance in the skies with unending grace.

The Hellfire Dragon Slayer lived on, within his legacy. Through his son.

 **AN: Hope you enjoy. I will try to be quicker in writing these chapters but I have my responsibilities to attend to away from the site. Sometime in the next month or two, I will be rewriting a few of my previous chapters so it fits with the rest of the story. Credits to ncpfan for helping me out with the structure and general planning of the story, thanks man, I can't do this stuff without you helping me see it at all angles. Little sneak peaks here and there in the dreams the twins are having and there's an especially big nod to something I have planned for both of them in this chapter.**

 **As always, please feel free to drop a review 'cause it really helps and motivates me if I know people are reading this story. Even if it's just saying you like or dislike it and what it is you like/dislike is greatly appreciated.**

 **But before you read the spells and jutsu translations, please read this. I know my story writing is full of plot holes and flaws that need to be corrected, as well as entire chapters rewritten and I am trying my best so bear with me. To those who are being annoyed by my vague references to things I have planned for the future, I'm not doing to annoy you, but to leave a hint of mystery to it. All will be revealed in time.**

 **Jutsu/Spells:**

 **Flying Raijin: Sequence Stage - Hiraishin: Ren no Dan**

 **Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu - Suiton: Suirō no Jutsu**

 **Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu - Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu**

 **Water Clone - Mizu Bunshin**

 **Wind Style: Fog Sweeper - Futon: Kiri suīpā**

 **Divine Dragon Slayer - Kami no Doragonsureiyā**

 **Fire Dragon King - Enryūō**

 **Flames of the Fire Dragon King - Enryūō no Hono**

 **Hellfire Dragon Slayer - Gokā no Doragonsureiyā**


	13. Forbidden Power

The Raikage was not in a good mood. In fact, he was downright pissed. Yep, not a happy bunny.

Why was he so annoyed? Well the answer was quite simple. The brat, Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, the kid from the future, had turned up in his office this morning. It wasn't so much he had turned up as been dragged into the office, Yugito pulling him by the ear. Now he was stood before the Raikage, his head lowered.

"Alright. Listen up, 'cause I'm only gonna say this once…" Naruto looked up at A and complied.

"HOW DARE YOU LEAVE FOR 3 AND A HALF BLOODY YEARS WITHOUT SO MUCH AS A NOTE OR REQUEST?! BY LEAVING FOR ALL THESE YEARS, YOU HAVE PUT ME, BEE AND YUGITO IN VERY AWKWARD POSITIONS, NOT TO MENTION THE UPROAR YOU CAUSED BY LETTING YOUR ABSENCE BE SO CONSPICUOUS! I HOPE YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU HAVE DONE YOU INSUBORDINATE BRAT!"

The rage of the Raikage was truly not to be underestimated. Hoping to calm A before he demolished something, namely his skull, Naruto knelt on one knee and spoke respectfully.

"I know I must have caused you great inconvenience and for that I am sorry Lord Raikage. For the past 3 and a half years, I had been learning new skills and developing what I already had in order to better serve as a shinobi. If you will allow me, I would like to explain to you, Lord Bee and Yugito especially why I have done what I did." If there was one thing being with Igneel had taught him, it was how to address his superiors. His recent nightmare aside, his life debt to the Fire Dragon King and subsequent time under him had taught him to respect strength and leadership, and the Kage of Cloud had both in spades.

"Very well, but you better have one hell of an explanation or it's the Iron Claw for you kid!" The Raikage seemed to have calmed himself for now. "Mabui, summon Bee!"

In a little while, Killer Bee had joined them and the Anbu had been sent out.

"Talk."

Remaining in his kneeling position, Naruto began.

"A week or two after I vanished, I used the power that allows me to traverse time to jump through space and time. When I first tried to return, I ended up several centuries too early, during the Clan Wars in fact. After much trial and error, I worked out a way to give myself an anchor in a time period by leaving a part of myself in the place I wished to return. It was after I successfully managed to enter alternate timelines and return to this one that I tried to cross entire universes. I subsequently ended up in an entirely different universe. I landed on a world called Earthland and decided to explore and, using the Nine Tails' Negative Emotion Sensing to find a person in deep depression. It was then my training began and I changed.

"Atlas Flame, one who had the ability to slay a dragon that he had overused and become one himself, took me under his wing and began to teach me his powers so I could succeed him. For the last 3 years he raised me as his own son and taught me to become a Dragon Slayer. For a month, I have been accompanying fellow Dragon Slayers in order to protect them until I got them somewhere safe. As I said, I am sorry for all the trouble I have caused."

Three different reactions. The Raikage's jaw dropped, Bee started scribbling in his rap book and Yugito had an expression unreadable to him as he rose to his feet and stood again. Then a cold crept down his spine. Why did he feel the urge to stop, drop and roll? A set of razor claws slashed at where his head had been a few moments before. He rolled along the floor as they pierced the places he'd been a mere moment before several times before he kicked off and clung to the wall with chakra control. Yugito's eyes were alight with feline fury. Scary as hell!

"Why you do this?!"

She snarled. "You disappear for three years, **three bloody years** , and all you have as an explanation is you were learning?! You are so full of crap! Get down here!"

He jumped again avoid being impaled and stuck to the ceiling. Bee was laughing like drunk as he rapidly scribbled in his notebook. "You gonna get scratched for that, that's a fact!" The rapping Jinchuriki ducked a little as Yugito flew at Naruto once again, much to his fright. "Woah! Bro! Shoulda learnt to summon!" Yugito landed on his face and kicked off, once again lunging for her prey. "Control yo' woman!"

"Yugito is not my woman!" Naruto exclaimed, narrowly evading yet another attempt to turn him into a scratching post. A looked very amused as Yugito chased Naruto around his office. His thoughts were slightly more unsettling.

' _At last you understand the horror of dealing with Yugito's fury._ ' His expression turned utterly vengeful and sadistic. ' _You will suffer like I suffered Naruto._ _ **Suffer!**_ '

…..

Minato paced in front of Team 7. "You all need to work harder. Kushina, I understand you were impaired by that incident 12 years ago and you are no longer able to maintain your skill level as S Rank because of it but if you get back into your lighter routine, I'm sure you can be mid to high A Rank in a few months. But even if you have left Anbu to become a Jonin Sensei, you must still strive to maintain and better your skills Kakashi, not spending each spare moment at the memorial. Sasuke, while your skill set is acceptable, it needs some diversity and you shouldn't limit yourself to Fire Style, Taijutsu and Shuriken Jutsu. Naruko, Kushina and I have taught you our Taijutsu styles yet you choose to fight like an Academy student, you need to start implementing some discipline and technique into your fighting. Instead of overusing clones, you should use some of your elemental jutsu. Mix up your usual style with some orthodox techniques to throw off anyone who might try to learn your attack patterns, too much unpredictability becomes predictable."

Each person nodded. Then the Hokage turned to Sakura.

"And you need to greatly increase _all_ of your skills, up your physical training and grow out of your unbearable fantasy world fast or you will be dropped from the ninja program entirely." He turned to face his student.

"Kakashi, you said this girl reminds you of Rin. Now I remind you that Rin was actually capable on a battlefield and not such a hindrance. She was an exceptional medic for her age and was the one to transplant that left eye in under 5 minutes, in a battle zone no less. And while she had affection for you, she didn't let it get in the way of duty. Unless you whip this one into shape and make her capable at some form of shinobi skill, I will be replacing her after two months if you can't get her at least partly trained for a role in the village."

Kakashi nodded with resignation.

"Good. Since it will be at least 2 weeks before Zabuza can recover from his injuries and near death state, you will all receive training. Kushina, if you would be so kind as to take on Sakura, that would greatly appreciated."

"Certainly Minato." His wife agreed. "But before we split off, can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Yes Kushina, anything. Now then, Kakashi, you will be training Sasuke and I will take it upon myself to oversee Naruko's training. If there are no questions, we begin now." No one raised their hands. "Good. Kushina, what was it you wanted to talk about?" He asked as the others walked away.

"It's two things Minato dear. Did you have to be so harsh with Sakura? She _is_ barely a month out of the Academy."

"She is far too naive, even for a fresh Genin and her dreams of becoming a wife for Sasuke are far too early to and too driven to actually become reality at this point in time. I know we grew up and taught Genin in wartime but the fact is, the Stone, Cloud or Mist could declare war anytime over grudges with me and the Leaf. The concept of ear is one that is constantly looming over our heads and if it were to break out, Genins like her would be the first to die on the front lines. Albeit harsh, she needs a no-nonsense teacher who will teach her to grow up and take shinobi life seriously or she will die on her first proper C or B rank if not for the others having to protect her. You were able to help Rin tone down her fantasies massively and I hope you can do the same in this case of I will be forced to discontinue her career as a shinobi of the Leaf."

"I will do my best Minato but Sakura is admittedly extremely entrenched in the belief that peace means she can not worry about war, like much of her generation. My second question is, has Jiraiya found out anything about Naruto yet?"

After Naruto had been controlled by Itachi, he had disappeared from the eyes of the Hidden Leaf. In an attempt to stop his Jinchuriki experiment from entirely blowing up in his face, he had set Jiraiya the long-term mission of finding their missing Jinchuriki. The experiment had been to see what kind of Jinchuriki was better, one who could think, feel and had free will, or one who would obey commands without question and to the letter. Those seals had been a part of this experiment. The Chakra Controller Seal had been to restrict any of the Nine Tails' chakra from becoming rampant before it could be controlled, the Loyalty Seal to make Naruto and obedient soldier. Of course, there would have been fallout from such an experiment so only he and Danzo knew about it. His son would have ungone emotional conditioning like the Foundation members had to kill off any emotions that would conflict with his orders but he had disappeared 2 years before that was scheduled to take place. It was supposed to work. Naruto and Naruko were supposed to be a comparison to see which kind of Jinchuriki was better but with the eldest gone and the younger twin too old by the time to apply such seals, it was scrapped. In order to prevent Kushina from realising the deliberate lack of parenting given to Naruto, he had secretly placed an Emotional Reconfiguration Seal on her the night the Nine Tails was sealed into their children so she wouldn't rebel. Of course, no one but he and Danzo knew.

"There is a rumor that he was found in a coma by one of the minor villages, not specified. One of his spies claimed that they spoke with someone who apparently saw a crimson, four tailed creature race across the Land of Snow but they were half drunk when they said it so it can't be verified."

"So nothing?"

"Not yet love. He'll turn up someday, I know he will."

He did love Kushina but his duty as a shinobi came first. His children had been born shinobi, one to be a weapon, the other a person. Power was the only absolute in this world, and the Leaf needed the power to rival the other villages should war break out again. The mistakes of the past could not be allows to be repeated.

In the last war, the Jinchuriki of the Mist, Cloud and Stone had been the most dangerous soldiers in the war, nearly tipping the scales in the other countries' favor until he, Jiraiya, Danzo and Orochimaru had devised seals to lock up their Tailed Beasts' powers and render them near powerless since they relied on their tenants almost entirely. That wasn't to say that the Fourth Mizukage, the Raikage's brother and Roshi of the Corrosion Style weren't strong without their Tailed Beasts' powers, no, they had still been strong after they were sealed off. The Two and Five Tails Jinchuriki had been killed during the war and had been reclaimed by their respective countries. To his understand, the Cloud had used the Kohaku no Johei, a sealing pot created by the Sage of Six Paths, to contain Two Tails until 12 years ago when it had been sealed in a child, a mere three or four months after the twins were born and became Jinchuriki themselves. Five Tails had immediately been locked down by several chakra draining and restraining Earth Jutsu and held until a young boy could be selected and brought to the battlefield and then the sealed the Tailed Beast in the boy and taken him back to the village. He had then grown up to become a strong shinobi called only Han. Two Tails' container had evaded the Leaf's spy network after the sealing and still remained anonymous.

Back in the present, Kushina walked away to begin teaching Sakura and he set about tutoring Naruko. Each day, the three were pushed to their limits and in Naruko and Sasuke's cases, beyond. It showed as all three trudged in for dinner. Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter, had cooked wonderful food for them, it would have been blasphemy to deny it. Halfway through dinner, a little boy came into the room. He saw their headbands and started yelling with scorn.

"Why don't you give up, you're just gonna get killed by Gato!"

"Inari!" Tazuna started. Sasuke held up a hand. He had had it with this kid's attitude after these three days. It reminded him of one of his older cousins, who had always belittled him and Satsuki and even actively tried to kill Naruko's twin. Of course, he got off with absolutely no punishment.

"No, let the kid talk. Let's see what he has to say. Go on Inari, tell me how Gato will kill us. We are shinobi, he is just a man."

"Gato kills everyone who rebels! You have no idea what life here is like! You shinobi live sheltered lives and just turn a blind eye to us! You have no idea what real pain is!"

Oh he did not. But he did. If there was one thing a thing should ever do, be they man, woman, child or creature, it was tell Sasuke that their pain was greater than his when it clearly wasn't. He despised those who over-exaggerated to the point of complete excess when it came to that subject.

"Pain?" Sasuke's eyes were shadowed by his hair as he slowly rose from his seat at the low table in the centre of the room. "We don't know pain?"

"Yeah! You have no idea what we've suffered!"

Sasuke's head snapped up, his eyes ablaze with fury.

"Suffered?! I watched as my own older brother cut down my entire clan, people I, no, _we_ loved and cared about, even his own girlfriend and our parents! I saw the blood, the mutilated people and the utter **death** he wrought that night! Over a hundred of our clan, every last one except me! He slaughtered them! And not just the men, but the women, and the children too! It didn't matter to him if they were ninja or civilian, my own brother, the one I had always looked up to and wanted to grow up to be like so much, murdered them all that night! He let me live because I wasn't even worth killing! I was six years old! And you know why he did it?! To test his power!

"And he didn't stop there! He did the unforgivable! He enslaved Naruko's twin brother with his Genjutsu and forced him to kill children, babies, toddlers and even the elderly! My _brother_ made her twin kill his only friend and fight his own father! At the age of six! Bloody! Years! Old!

"12 years ago the Nine Tailed Demon Fox attacked our village and killed a whole quarter of our population, ninja and civilian alike and even took the life of our Third Hokage before it was stopped! Now try and tell me that I, we haven't suffered! You know _nothing_ of real pain! You know _nothing_ about us, so don't even dare try and judge us! Gato took over your country and killed a guy, boo hoo! That's nothing compared to what ninja go through! Our home was near wiped off the map when we were infants and Naruko and I lost people we cared about in one night, your suffering doesn't even hold a candle to ours! You need to stop wallowing in self-pity and grow a pair, you little brat!"

Inari, unable to answer, ran out of the room crying. Sasuke let out a near feral growl as he sat back down again. "Sorry, but he hasn't even come close to the amount of suffering we have endured. I don't care if he has lost his dad, I lost my whole family, parents, cousins, grandparents and all. I'll be back later Sensei, Lord Fourth, I need some time out of this house."

He got up and left, walking out to the forest, a short walk, and started punching a tree as hard as he could. ' _Stupid little kid! He had no idea what Itachi did but he still tried to put his suffering above my own! Since when did I ever get that angry around people? Have I gone soft? Am I really so weak I can't keep my emotions in check?_ '

His thoughts were interrupted by his name being called out.

"Sasuke."

Naruko was behind him. He should have expected this. Sasuke continued to hammer away at the tree, answering calmly.

"Yes Naruko? What is it?"

She shifted uncomfortably. What was on her mind he wondered.

"Thanks… for what you said back there. I guess I'm just thankful that someone else knows what it feels like… to lose someone you love. Naruto…" She started to choke up a bit, just by saying her twin's name. It was clearly still an open wound for her it seemed. "I don't want to think he's dead but… no one's seen him in 6 hears and…"

Then she broke down. Although he didn't know why he did it, Sasuke stopped punching the tree and turned around, letting Naruko cry into his shoulder as he held her in an awkward hug. And there she stayed, until she cried herself to sleep. He carried her on his back, back to the house late and by that time, everyone was in bed, most asleep. The next day, their training resumed.

By the time the predicted encounter rolled around, they had all learned some new tricks. A day before, Minato had to personally go back to the Leaf, having sent Shadow Clones for the previous days. As the Hokage, he had many duties that needed to be attended to.

Mist rolled onto the bridge, obscuring their view. Like last time, Kushina cleared the worst of the mist and Zabuza and his hunter ninja appeared.

"Howdy Kakashi, ready for round 2?" The Copy Ninja revealed his Sharingan again and stood opposite his opponent.

"You have no idea how ready."

"Ah, the Sharingan again. Is that all you can do?"

"Fight me and find out."

Kushina and Sakura positioned themselves either side of Tazuna, katana and kunai at the ready. "Remember what I taught you Sakura." The girl nodded. Naruko and Sasuke opposed the hunter ninja, who Zabuza revealed the name of.

"Haku, take the two kids, I'll deal with Kakashi and then we move on to the remaining two."

"Understood, Master Zabuza."

Sasuke shot forward to meet Haku's burst of speed. His warmer encased forearm struck the boy's wrist with much force, halting the motion to throw the four senbon in the hand attached to it. His foot curved around and in a second, delivered a fairly good roundhouse to his abdomen. Naruko made her signature seal and four clones rushed the recovering opponent, lashing out with somewhat disciplined blows, each ducked or dodged. She weaved a few signs and spat medium sized projectiles of water.

"Water Style: Liquid Bullets!"

They were literally a single damn inch from the masked boy when they somehow stopped in the air. Then, cold air seemed to blast them and gradually, they grew colder and colder, freezing entirely. The ice bullets hurtled at her and Sasuke, forcing them to jump back.

"Ice Style: Reverse Ice." Hyōton: Gyaku Kori (something like that, check later)

Never had either of them seen the ice element before and they were shocked cold, no pun intended. Yeah, totally no pun intended.

"The hell?!" The blonde exclaimed in shock.

"Whatever." Sasuke shrugged, swiftly running through seals. Snake. Ram. Monkey. Boar. Horse. Tiger. "If it's ice, it can be melted. Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

Chakra fire was expelled from his mouth and collided with a rectangle of ice, a shield for the ice user. When his jutsu died down, he got a better look at the shield. No, not a shield, a mirror of sorts. It was partially melted from his Fire Style but that was all it had done to it. A hail of needles came _through_ it and the pair pulled out kunai, deflecting as many as they could. Several got through their guards, nicking their cheeks and hands, embedding in their bodies and becoming covered in pinpricks of their warm, sticky blood. Ow.

' _These things sting. We need to avoid them as best we can unless we want him to paralyse us or kill us._ ' Sasuke realised. "Oi, Naruko, don't let him get any of your vital points with those pins, he'll paralyze you or worse!"

"Thanks for the heads up!" She yelled back, cartwheeling away from another volley. Her clones came in handy as she and the Uchiha could kick off of them or use them as temporary shields. One round of the needles couldn't be avoided by Naruko. No other ideas, Sasuke hurled a kunai with an explosive tag at them, blowing them and Naruko, thankfully barely touched by the explosion, in separate directions.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"

A series of small fireball ignited shurikens as Sasuke returned fire on Haku. Naruko had similar thoughts.

"Wind Style: Gust!"

A small wall of wind overtook the fireball shurikens, being consumed and making them into raging bullets. They crashed into the mirror and reduced it to a puddle of water on the bridge slabs. Haku himself was untouched but his defense had been taken out of play.

Over with Kakashi and Zabuza, things were going tough. They seemed to be equally matched, neither actually scoring a proper blow on their opponent. Kunai clashed with Executioner's Blade repeatedly, Kakashi on the defensive. The mist was gathering again and Zabuza was slowly fading out of sight at times, disappearing from view and making it harder to fight him. He slashed with the kunai and Zabuza jumped back, fading into the mist.

" _One, two, I hear you._ "

Kakashi's Sharingan span like a possessed windmill, barely picking out the massive sword that nearly decapitated him, twisting his wrist when he blocked with a kunai. The Copy Ninja was on his knees. So this was why Zabuza was called a master of the Silent Killing technique. He hadn't even heard him coming. Kakashi had barely noticed him with the Sharingan, a mere few moments before he would have been a shish kebab. The creeping voice rang out again.

" _Three, four, you're on the floor._ "

A vertical slash of the Executioner's Blade ate into the cold stone of the bridge, going right through and cracking it. Kakashi panted, having launched himself desperately backwards to avoid it. Such monstrous strength, how was this man even human? The blade was yanked out of the bridge and Zabuza's seemingly glowing red eyes vanished.

" _Five, six, all out of tricks._ "

A hailstorm of water bullets careered from the side of the unfinished bridge. He was forced to flash through a chain of seals and slam his hands down on the stone, water coming from the other side and surrounded him. His Water Style: Water Wall held under the murder of water projectiles but felt like it would give if a few more hit it with the same force the previous ones had. Yet another massive slash came from behind and Kakashi leapt high, twisting in the air and backflipped away. The apparition of Zabuza splashed into a puddle of water. It was a clone, damn!

" _Seven, eight, death is your fate._ "

The voice came from beside him. Zabuza was there, already swinging the Executioner's Blade around with both hands on the long handle. Kakashi's Sharingan proved a curse as he tried to jump back. The edge of the massive weapon sliced into his skin, through his flak jacket and top, and dealt an inch and a half deep cut across his torso. This time the Demon of the Bloody Mist vanished entirely.

" _Nine, ten, let's play again._ "

It was near impossible to survive against Zabuza in his domain, much less fight or win!

Naruko and Sasuke could only think of one expression to sum their situation. They. Were. Screwed. A dome of ice mirrors surrounded them, locking them in a confined space. Haku had steeped into one of the mirrors and now he was in all of them, hurling needles from all angles at them. The pair were pin cushions but none of their vital points had been hit. Yet. Again, another volley came at him but this time around, time slowed down for Sasuke. He saw a phantom image of the needles, a foot in front of the actual ones. He leaned to the side, letting most of the projectiles pass by. More needles. And again, he saw their phantom images. Again, he evaded most of them.

Instead of onyx eyes, there was red and black. In his right eye, two tomoe, opposite each other, circled the small pupil, in his left, a single tomoe. His Sharingan had activated!

' _I can see!_ ' Sasuke realised. ' _His movements… the paths of his needles… I can see them! So this is the Sharingan!_ '

His eyes raced, the tomoe spinning so fast, they weren't visible, a black blur on a red iris around his pupils. He saw each needle, could see where it went. His body was a machine, mechanically dodging the majority of the flying senbon. He was still pin cushion but the sudden burst of energy from his Sharingan had helped him evade the worst of it. Naruko suddenly unleashed a massive burst of foul crimson chakra, it taking the form of a fox silhouette above her head. All the needles were expelled from her and she launched herself like savage animal, trying her best to smash through their icy prison of mirrors. As soon as she locked eyes with him, Sasuke found himself in a sewer. Orange bubbles formed the head of a titanic fox with crimson slitted eyes, like the ones Naruko had right now.

" **An Uchiha in here?! How in the name of the Six Paths did you get down here?!** "

"I knew Naruko was special, but I never expect you, Nine Tails." He recognised the beast from the story Itachi had told him, when they were still a happy family. His hand found itself on the black nose and the appendage clamped down on it, bursting the apparition of the Demon Fox. "Get back in your cage."

" **I won't forget this Uchiha! One day, I will see you bleed! One day I will see you suffer so much, you should beg for death as a release!** "

"You don't control my fate, I do." He answered, willing himself to leave the scape that belonged to his blonde friend but not without a parting comment.

"Nice orange fur, Niney, it makes you look like an overgrown plushy."

The time it took for him to remove the influence of the Nine Tails was all their attacker needed to get a clean shot. His Sharingan allowed him to evade the needles thrown, barely, a few scratching his skin but that was it.

But Naruko wasn't so fortunate. Three ice needles stabbed into her neck, others close to her heart, others in various other points. Blood splattered on the cold stone.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Droplets of the crimson substance dripped from her mouth as Sasuke turned around, horrified, his shining red and black Dojutsu engraving the sight permanently into his memory, never to be forgotten. She stumbled, and tripped. The blonde fell back into his arms. The Uchiha lowered her gently to the ground, not even aware that Haku had stopped his assault.

"Sas… uke…"

Her eyes rolled back and her heart beat one last time. She went cold and, miles away, Naruto felt a death chill grip his heart and seep from his bones as he clenched at his chest.

Sasuke watched the life leave her. His heart skipped a beat and his eyes burned hot as fire. The tomoe span several times and his eyes widened as much as was possible as the tomoe were sucked into the pupil and his entire iris went midnight black, swallowing the red. Then, from the center, a pattern formed. It was crimson and gave the appearance of three intersecting ellipses, looking like a six petal flower on his black iris. Within the red, black lines formed 6 small triangle shapes that drew a hexagon around the small pupil, giving the look of a smaller pattern within the main one. His eyes burned but the discomfort was nothing next to the agony of his heart.

He gently laid Naruko on the ground and closed her eyes, rising to his feet. It was too soon for her to die. Too soon. She had so much to live for, finding her brother, watching her little sister grow up, becoming Hokage like she always daid she would in the future. His hands clenched into fists, his teeth gritted and the Uchiha trembled, not with fear but with rage. He would pay. The damn bastard would pay for stealing all that from her. This was the first time he had wanted revenge for someone else, and it filled him with such fire, such raging anger that had now boiled over. An Uchiha angered was an Uchiha soon to be unleashing all Hell on Earth, and even the Devil himself would tremble.

"Is this the first time you've seen a comrade die?"

"Shut up."

"If you cannot see someone die and move on, you are…"

"I said shut up!" Sasuke roared, whipping around and running straight at the mirror Haku was in. He punched it with all his might and, unbelievably, it cracked. Haku tried to jump to another mirror but Sasuke hand caught his ankle. His grip was titanium, the sudden strength behind it overwhelming.

His new eyes glowed with hatred as he outright screamed at the ice user as he pulled the masked boy right into his anger fueled punch. Left hook. Right jab. Backhand. He brought his fist down hard of the back of Haku's head and brought his knee up to meet the descending mask. It shattered into pieces with the collision and they clattered to the floor. A fierce horse kick and the boy was sent tumbling. A giant serpent of ice rose from the water and swayed as its summoner yelled,

"Ice Style: Ice Dragon!"

Drip.

Tears of blood came from his left eye as the veins in it became visible from the strain. A massive chunk of his chakra disappeared and on pure genetic memory, Sasuke snarled.

"Amaterasu!"

Pure black flames ignited, quickly melting the giant ice serpent to a puddle of water that just as swiftly evaporated and the black flames died. Sasuke spoke emotionlessly.

"Again."

The black Flames of Heaven ignited on Haku's body, engulfing him in an inescapable pyre that was his own burning flesh and he fell over the side of the bridge into the churning waves. But the black fire did not extinguish. Sasuke looked down at him, burning to death in the water. It still wasn't enough. That black fire was still too good a fate for the person who killed his friend.

"May you burn in Hell as you are judged by the Flames of Heaven."

He walked back over to Naruko's lifeless body. Her features were lifeless, her skin cold to the touch. With the countless needles that had pierced her in their fight, her jacket had fallen open. He gently pulled out the needles that had killed Naruko and lifted her. He carried her bridal style and Haku screamed from behind them.

"Put them out! Please!"

He had only hate for the Ice Style user.

"You made me watch my best and only friend die. You can burn to death for all I care. Now burn!"

He walked slowly towards the sound of Kakashi and Zabuza clashing in the mist, unable to see more than two metres due to it. His Mangekyō Sharingan glowed wih sadness.

Multiple puffs of smoke and Kakashi summoned his ninja dogs. They howled and sniffed the missing ninja out, latching onto him and biting into his flesh, restraining him. One barked loud, allowing Kakashi to find them. He spoke without emotion as he approached Zabuza.

"Zabuza. I am called the Copy Ninja for a good reason, but I do have my own tricks you know. I will show you why I am called the man who cuts lightning itself."

Ox. Hare. Monkey. Blue electricity crackled loudly around his hand. It built up until it was a raging weapon of assassination spiking from his palm. As he ran at Zabuza, Kakashi spoke again.

"This is my original jutsu! Lightning Blade!"

The lightning encased hand bore right through the rogue shinobi's chest, eviscerating his heart and killing him instantly. Kakashi withdrew his arm and let his dogs return to the summon realm. A simple push to the chest and Zabuza fell into the water, leaving his Executioner's Blade on the bridge. It was over.

Clapping came from further down the bridge as Sakura and Kushina came up to him, Tazuna in tow. A short man I'm a suit was standing there, an army of bandits and thugs behind him. Gato.

"Looks like Zabuza failed. Well, at least I don't have to get rid of him now, seeing as you were kind enough to do my work for me. Boys, loot the homes and take the women!" The midget yelled and his army of thugs yelled back in earnest.

Footsteps. They came from the other direction. Every head turned. Sasuke was walking towards them with a limp Naruko in his arms. His eye bled anew.

"Amaterasu."

The entire army, Gato include, was set ablaze as the black flames first ignited on one person who knocked into a bunch more and spreading the fire with a domino effect. As he collapsed, cradling the body of his friend, his eye burned with untold depths of pain. The Dojutsu faded entirely and all that was left was dead midnight eyes.

" _I am so sorry. I let you die and all I could do was kill that bastard for it. I wish… if only I could have saved you. How would things be different?_ "

For the first time since the Massacre, he cried. Tears came from his right eye, unable to flow from his left due to the tears of blood that had already been shed. He was completely numb, unaware of anything but her lifeless features. Kakashi stood behind him, watching the Uchiha cry for the first time. It was a sorry sight to say the least of it. Sasuke didn't notice as his sensei came up behind him, he didn't feel the swift blow to the back of his head go knock him out. He just fell into unconsciousness, still feeling gut-wrenching guilt, falling backwards and hitting the cold stone of the bridge on his back, Naruko cradled to his chest, even in his unconsciousness.

Kushina ran, seeing the unmoving pair, lifting them both and holding them. She just rocked back and forth, crying quietly, " _My poor baby!_ " over and over. She had been the best friend of Mikoto Uchiha, Sasuke's mother, and seeing him in such a state, coupled with the lifelessness of her eldest daughter, was just utterly overwhelming.

They walked back to the house, done for the day. Cries of relief filled the back room when a certain someone stirred.

Sky blue eyes cracked open. They blinked slowly a couple of times as the light penetrated her retinas with blinding beams from the window. The owner of the eyed groaned a little, unable to move. Kushina, sat beside her daughter, quickly engulfed her in a rib-crushing embrace.

"Naruko! You're okay!"

The blonde coughed a bit.

"... Wouldn't say that Mom… feel like crap…"

"You're alive, that's what matters." The worried mother helped her daughter sit upright, leaning her up against the wall with the utmost care. Naruko found her jacket was gone and so were her shuriken holster, pouch and sandals. Probably taken off so she could rest better. Now she was just wearing a black tank top, her shorts and underwear underneath.

"Where's Sasuke?"

"Out on the dock, he hadn't spoken to anyone since he thought you died and be was knocked out. He woke up yesterday and hasn't been back inside the house since."

"How long was I out then?"

"Three days."

Out on the dock, Sasuke stared at his reflection in the water. His Sharingan span and once again, his Mangekyō activated.

' _Now I have these eyes. Itachi, who did you see die to awaken them? I know you said that when I had the same eyes to come and face you, but I'm not so sure I want to anymore. There are just too many questions I have now. I'm not sure if it's vengeance or justice I want anymore._ '

He looked up at the window and saw a face he never expected to see awake again. His friend, Naruko, was peering out of the glass trying to find him in the dark. She was alive?! Then how had he… unless it was the turmoil of seeing and _believing_ the death of your best friend was what awakened it. Powerful emotions and pressure awakened the Sharingan, so why not the Mangekyō? Well either way, he possessed the forbidden eyes of the Uchiha, first awakened by the eldest son of the Sage of Six Paths.

Sasuke Uchiha possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan.


	14. Return to Hell

It was late evening when Naruto's unwanted emotions rose to the surface like an eruption under the surface as he saw the large gates of the Leaf Village. Anger. Hatred. Disgust. He felt them all rage in his blood, just beneath the surface. But another lurked beneath them all, unrecognisable to him. Yugito smiled at him gently as they came into sight of the guards. It would be fine. That was the message she tried to convey but Naruto wasn't so sure. Certainly, his appearance should keep them from discovering his identity for a few days at most but, he still had the main features. His once vibrant blonde hair was pure snow white, his blue eyes, once so full of life, were cold and stormy with slitted pupils. His whisker marks that he shared with his sister were thinner but still there. His hair was still spikey but now just about reached the tips of his shoulder blades. The bangs framed his face, the fringe now went down to his eyes, sometimes hanging in his sight. It was annoying but it gave him the right feel so to speak. It made him feel like a dragon, wild and untamed. Like a Dragon Slayer should be. The real problem, would be his name. It was a dead giveaway. Yes, he used the name Flame but it did nothing to hide his first name. Well, can't have it all.

"Whatever. Let them find out, I'm not taking anything lying down anymore. I'm no one's stress reliever." Bee looked down at him and said very seriously,

"That's what I like to hear, my man! Show them why no one better wake the sleeping dragon, shazzam!"

His naturally slitted pupils narrowed as he bared his sharp canines. A low growl escaped his throat and stormy blue irises flashed blazing, like fire. His voice was devoid of all emotion, all life. "Oh I will. If they poke the sleeping dragon, even if it's with a mile long stick, they should know they're playing with fire. _Literal fire!_ '

' _ **Such anger, I think the fox is getting his fill, kitten.**_ ' Two Tails spoke to Yugito.

Just then, speak of the devil, a growling voice echoed from the depths of Naruto's mind.

' _ **Damn brat! That's a lot of anger and hate you've got there. It's delicious.**_ '

' _Since when do you talk to me randomly? Normally, you want something whenever you talk to me, whether it's me to use your chakra or amusement._ '

' _ **True, fleshbag. What I want this time, is to know how you plan to handle being in your childhood prison.**_ '

Naruto felt the dark anger he normally chose to ignore rise within him, heard the fox chuckling as it felt the negative emotion flowing in him. When he thought of the Leaf, several things rose to the surface of his mindscape in bubbles on the water covered cave floor. His time as a mindless drone, forced to be subservient to Minato. His mother's face as he ran away. It had made his eyes burn with tears. The thought of her horrified features was still painful for him, no matter how he had tried to numb the pain. His various attempts to do so now rose to the surface. Father-son time with Atlas, teaching Natsu and taking him to Fairy Tail after meeting the master. Another was him practically raising Natsu, Wendy and Atsuko as he did now after his Shadow Clones found the younger pair. Their dragons, Grandeeney and Baragon, had disappeared just a few weeks before and they had been taken care of so far by some kid. He had taken them off the boy's hands so to take care of his fellow Dragon Slayers, something Igneel had asked of him. It had been a serious moment while Natsu had been sleeping but he hasn't thought much of it at the time. It had gone to the back of his mind after Igneel disappeared, having to take care of the rosette. Thankfully that old man had taken them off his hands while he was in this world, Naruto had no idea how to deal with any of them for an extended period of time. In a months or two he would have to go back and train them and raise them but, as of this day, Naruto was nowhere near ready to teach Natsu alone. He barely got by with the younger two, teaching Wendy combat applications of her Sky Dragon Slayer Magic and Atsuko to form it. The moment Wendy finished learning her basic attacks, he would be in trouble. He had no idea what the advanced skills of a Sky Dragon were. Naruto was teaching her based on his own skill set which, admittedly could be used similarly to hers but his magic greatly differed from Wendy's.

' _I honestly don't know. If I'm being honest, I want to know what you would do in my position._ '

' _ **Kill them all. Problem solved. You stupid humans over complicate things so much. Killing ends the problem, quick and simple.**_ '

' _And of course, you're no help at all._ '

Inside the cage, the Nine Tails laughed hard. It was a bitter, twisted laugh, full of malice. ' _ **You were the one who asked what I would do, brat! I gave you an answer! I never said you had to like it!**_ '

Deciding to give up arguing with the furball before it escalated, Naruto came back to earth and they continued to the gates. The guards were two lazy looking Chunins. It was pathetic, honestly. The Leaf just stuck whoever on guard duty. Next thing you know, they're posting Genins.

"Names and identification?"

"The awesome Killer Bee, from the Cloud yeah! Here for the exams, 'ya know? This here is 'ma crew!" More terrible raps.

"Yugito Nii."

"Blazing Dragon." His eyes literally blazed fiery again as he stated his title given to him by that child in Lily Village. He did think it suited him quite well.

The Chunins, clearly not really caring, wrote down their names and let them pass after informing them of the rules which Naruto, Yugito and Bee had already chosen to ignore. They would do whatever the hell they wanted, when they wanted to do it. Naruto let Yugito climb up on his back so he would piggyback her around since, really, she was impossible to say no to. Not to mention that after she nearly turned him into a scratching post, he wasn't going to tick her off again.

And then there was that moment. After she had finally caught him, following a chase that lasted 4 hours, she had trapped him in a back alley. He had been so scared that she would do terrible things to and inflict massive pain on him, he had nearly had a heart attack when she didn't slice his guts out. Instead, she hadn't wounded or maimed him in any way, but done the exact opposite of what he expected. She had outright and out of nowhere, no explanation at all, pinned him to the wall and practically shoved her tongue down his throat. While crying. Yeah, try that. A feral and seemingly and seemingly bloodthirsty girl pins you to a wall then tongue wrestles with you. In a word? Enlightening. It was then he realised that she hadn't been angry with him so much as upset and she had missed him. The bomb that turned his world upside down.

Yugito loved him.

Looking around town, they searched for the confrontation Naruko would get into. They found it, watching from down the street. If out of need for reassurance or not, Naruto felt around his neck, his hand pressing the area around his neck. The necklace he was searching for was still there. Good. The red bead glowed for a moment under the zip-up sleeveless top over a form-fitting fishnet vest that the necklace rested on. The daughter of the Hokage was nose to nose with Kankuro, her confident and confrontational attitude prominent.

"Put him down! I could call the Anbu watching me and have you in chains in an instant for threatening and assaulting a citizen of the Leaf."

"Yeah? I'd like to see you try Blondie!"

"Don't push me. I might be the daughter of the Hokage but I'm not above decking you here and now."

Naruto put Yugito down, faked a smile at her, and disappeared, reappearing upside down, tree walking above their heads.

"You may not have noticed, but I don't think he cares who you are. All you are to him is a child of another village's leader, nothing too special since he is the second child of the Kazekage." His voice was balanced, despite his storm of emotions beneath the exterior. Naruko looked up, as did Sasuke and Sakura.

"Who are you?"

Naruto decided to give her a clue. Not one that was obvious but if she had any brains, his sister would notice something was up with what he said.

"I'm no one. Just an object in the background, irrelevant." The look on her face showed she did notice something, she was just confused. "I just wanted to say, that not how you asked a visitor with bad fashion sense to put down a little kid."

Naruto walked out from behind Kankuro with a dark look in his eyes. A flash of steel and there was a kunai at the puppeteer's throat, threatening to cut open his jugular.

"Drop the kid. Or I 'accidentally' slip and you go to the afterlife early. I hear it's a place no one wants to go."

His voice was barely a whisper, the blade glinting in the sunlight. Naruto made no sign of giving an inch. He looked like he'd sooner lodge the blade an inch into the puppet master's neck or spine, just for the kicks. The older boy turned slowly. He saw the dark look in his eyes, the shadow hanging over them. Self-preservation took over and Kankuro dropped Konohamaru and held his hands up.

"I dropped him! I did what you asked! Just point that thing somewhere else!" Naruto slipped the kunai back into the pouch on his leg and walked on by, the dark look reverting to a cold, emotionless mask. The shadow covered his entire face now as he walked right past Naruko. He spoke softly but the coldness was still in his voice.

"That's how a ninja should act. But clearly you are above the norm aren't you? Daddy's girl? If you have time to spend horsing around, you could be training."

And he walked on by, not turning around to see her shocked face. His white hair danced in the wind and he was gone. The words drove a nail into a coffin Naruko thought buried. Only one person had ever called her that and he had thrown himself into depths beyond her sight.

" _Hah, I win again!" Naruko crowed._

" _Hmph. I've got things to do. Have fun with your friends, daddy's girl." He walked away, leaving her in the garden._

But it couldn't be him, could it?

She caught his wrist, thankfully for Naruto, his left one. He still didn't look her in the eye. He couldn't. Not yet. It was too soon, too soon. Then she asked her question.

"Are you… the snow haired dragon?" So Yang Kurama had passed on the message.

"I am Blazing Dragon. So maybe. Who knows, I might be, I might not. It depends what you seek. Revenge leads to taking separate sides, love leads to suffering the shedding of tears, seeking someone to guide your eyes leads to answers and truth you might not want to believe in time. Have a nice day."

He pulled his wrist free and walked away, not noticing her face. He stopped.

"Wait, I didn't get your name."

"Naruko. Naruko Uzumaki Namikaze."

"I see."

The urge to turn around was almost uncontrollable. He wanted to turn around, wrap her him his arms and never let go again, to take her away from Namikaze. He wanted to take her away to a place where she wasn't at risk to Minato's deplorable schemes. She was the thing he cared for the most, although he had tried to make her grow up alone, so she could understand what he had felt. How much had she grown up without him? How much had he missed? Did she hate him? Did she still love him? It was a series of heart-wrenching questions inside his head. But he lowered his head and walked away.

Naruto shuddered and shook himself off, as if trying to shake the discomfort of having to leave Naruko off. He picked Yugito back up and they walked to the hotel where they were staying. Deep within, something was stirring. A crack of blazing orange eyes burned within darkness as a grunt of laughter echoed. The thing didn't wake but it was partially conscious. It saw and heard everything he did, sensed his emotions. It could see the struggles Naruto endured, day by day. And it found them pointless. He pointlessly tried to deny his true nature, he didn't see how futile it was to try. A low voice rumbled, sleep-talking it seemed. A few words were comprehensible if there was anyone there to hear them.

"...foolish human… true nature… dragon… wake…"

The pair from Cloud wandered down the streets. They passed the Uchiha compound and Naruto stopped in his tracks as that unrecognisable feeling shoved its way to the front. Something had happened here, something he felt he should know but he didn't. Itachi had committed the Uchiha Massacre within those walls. The blood he must of shed, the lives he must of extinguished, the tears he must of cried, they infiltrated Naruto, creeping inside. He felt almost responsible for what had been done here. Maybe because Itachi had trusted him to tell him about the coup and what he had said he would do. He had no memory or idea or why he might feel this way so he did as he always did. He shoved the unwanted emotions and thoughts to the back of his mind and focused on the present moment. The comforting weight of his fellow Jinchuriki on his back. The company of the one who understood and loved him.

The hotel they were staying at wasn't anything particularly fancy, it was your average clean and neat but not elegant hotel. Their room was a simple one, with two beds, basic bedside tables and an electric light on the ceiling. Killer Bee had his own room next door. They picked out their beds and put their belongings, things that didn't really matter since ninja didn't trust anyone not to steal personal possessions, under their beds. All those personal items were sealed away in storage scrolls sealed into seals on each person's clothing. Naruto took the bed closest to the window that lead out to the balcony. He would go to sleep after the others if he did at all and he liked to hear the rain patter, see the droplets splatter against the glass. He could smell the metallic scent of a storm coming in the air, courtesy of his Dragon Slayer nose.

"It's going to be stormy soon. Better get your blanket out Yugito, it's a cold night tonight."

Yugito looked up at him. She tucked her ponytail over her shoulder as she asked him, "Are you sure?"

"I can smell it in the air. Metallic. A draft of water in the air too. Moist atmosphere. I always knew when a storm was coming when I was… with…" The blonde wrapped her arms around his middle, hugging him from behind.

"It's okay, it's my fault from bringing it up at all. Don't worry about it, I'm sure Atlas wouldn't want you to be sad about the memories you shared together." Naruto relaxed his tense body, enjoying the warmth of contact with another. He leaned back and they both fell on the bed and they snuggled, Naruto distracted from his sudden depression. She looked up at him with her kitty cat eyes and he caved. He could never say no to her. Yugito released him and he let her lie on his back as he lay stomach down on the bed, reading a book as she played with his hair, weaving little braids. Now he regretted taking a doze in the shade of a giant boulder that one sunny afternoon. When he had woken up, he had found his hair full of knotty braids and twists. Yugito had since learnt to do actual braids and other hair styling tricks. Girl stuff he called it. Little did he know, the cat-like blonde was looking at him worriedly from over his shoulder, he on his stomach, pretending to read.

Yugito saw how she interacted with Naruto so casual. She easily broke down his guards against other people with just some pleading eyes. No one other than herself and the little blue haired girl from that other world could get them to work on him. If she was being honest, Wendy was far too young to be in the harsh world of the Elemental Nations, he was right to have not allowed her or the others to cross over to this place. That have meant they wouldn't have to protect her against ninja and Yugito knew Naruto would catch an explosive tag, throw his hand on a blade, jump in front of a train or face down a demon for any of them without a doubt. Her too. Granted he could survive all of those things probably but it was nice that he was still able to feel so strongly for another with all he had been through. Naruto definitely had trust and attachment issues but he was still a very kind and caring person behind his guarded personality.

His abilities were no joke either, he doubtlessly had the power to back up any threat he made but how far would that get him in a village full of people who had abused, hated and tried to kill him? He wasn't going to take that anymore but if he wanted to get through this, he would have to be very careful. Minato, if even half of what Naruto said was the truth, would definitely try something. How Naruto would react would be another matter. Would he roll with the punches or would he lash out back in retaliation? He had always been an emotionally guided person but it seemed his time in Earthland had brought out that trait more in him.

"Naruto. What are you going to do in regards to your abilities?"

He sighed and lay on his back. Yugito clambered up to rest her head on his chest, looking up at him and he answered, gazing up at the whitewash ceiling.

"I'm not going to show him everything he wants to see but I'm not going to be holding back either. I'll stick to hand-to-hand and weapons, maybe a few jutsu at most. I want to see his face when I reveal what he'll never be able to have. Magic." He raised his hand in front of his face and clenched it into a fist. Hellfire ignited around it and he continued. "I have the power of a dragon flowing through my entire being. Power to be noticed by the Tailed Beasts if I were using it to its full potential. I might be able to take Shukaku with my current strength. But not Matatabi. She is my superior in everything and I acknowledge that. I may have a dragon's pride but I think I know when I'm out of my league."

' _ **Honest and respectful, are you sure he's Nine Tails' container?**_ ' Two Tails chose that moment to speak to her own Jinchuriki. Her gentle and warm voice was always a welcome sound to Yugito.

' _Yeah, he's foxy enough. But, lately I'm thinking he's more like a dragon than a fox._ '

' _ **Oh, are you saying he's more of a beast in bed than an animal?**_ '

' _Mata!_ '

Naruto noted her red cheeks and chose to poke fun. "A certain hellcat saying embarrassing things Yugito?"

"Yes! No! I'm sorry, what? Hey I heard that Firepaws!" Clearly the Two Tails was in a playful mood today. "She says the fox is just as bad. And he likes her, in _that_ way if you get what I mean."

' _ **SHE SAID WHAT?! I'LL THROW THAT MANGY, GLORIFIED PIECE OF RUG INTO NEXT WEEK!**_ '

Sharp pain jolted through his head as Naruto endured Kurama's mental bellowing in his mindscape. ' _KURAMA! VOLUME!_ "

' _ **DON'T YOU START FLESHBAG! I WILL GIVE YOU A MIGRAINE WORSE THAN DEATH!**_ '

If this was his warm-up rant, Naruto dreaded Kurama's full rage. It would likely tear his head apart. He had to stop it before Ten Tails woke up and joined in the shouting contest.

' _Don't bother fox, she'll just keep at it._ '

' _ **And that makes me want to crush her less why?!**_ '

' _Because she's your family, whether you want them or not. And family doesn't hurt family, it protects it. Or are you the monster my grandfather thought you to be?_ ' That was a low blow but a necessary one. If there was anything Kurama hated more than humanity's weakness, it was Madara.

' _ **You would dare to bring that up?! It's bad enough you are his blood!**_ " It seemed he had only made his unwanted prisoner target him. ' _ **But you make a valid point for a dragon's crossbreed pet.**_ ' Ok, that remark burned. ' _ **I will leave the kitten to herself if you tell her this. 'Does the little firestarter really need to be disciplined again?' Tell her that. Now be silent you damn Dragon Slayer.**_ '

"Hey Yugi, message for the fireball. 'Does the little firestarter really need to be disciplined again?'" Yugito's faced underwent a myriad of expressions as she heard the Two Tails' reaction. Eventually she broke out laughing, looked like the kitten went home to Mama. She looked up at him with a serious face after her laughing fit.

"Naruto. If you 'accidentally' call me 'Yugi' again, I might 'accidentally' scratch you in my sleep. You wouldn't want that, would you Whiskers?" He went slightly paler at that. "Understand?"

When the storm hit, everyone was indoors, not wanting to be caught in the torrents of droplets. Naruto stood by the window, watching as the powerful forces of nature did their work. It was beautiful in a way, how even a place of great human population could not resist the power of nature. The raindrops fell, individuals. Like drops of the world's sadness. They hit the ground and splattered, scattering into a wider area like actions. Yugito was taking an early bed, curled up under her covers with a sweet smile on her face as she curled up under the covers, snuggling. Naruto opened the window and stepped out into the storm, closing it after him. Within moments, he was soaked from head to toe. His spiky white hair was dragged down, like a flower wilting. Rivulets ran down his face as he looked up into the dark sky. Water formed a thin sheet over the floor of the balcony. His scaled arm just let the mini streams roll off, immune to absorbing them.

For the first time in a while, Naruto took off the bandages around his right arm and opened and closed the scales, watching them open and close in a wave. He did it again. Water was beginning to seep through the cracks made by the open scales. He opened them again, keeping them open this time. Cold rain ran inside the scales and for the first time since he lost his arm, Naruto felt water with the bare flesh of his right hand. So he could still feel. The white arm was permanent armor. He couldn't remove it like a gauntlet though. The closest it had ever gotten to being a human arm these past 6-7 years was the beginning of the cycle all reptiles followed in their lives. For the first week or two after he shed the scales, his arm was just pale flesh. It could feel, heck it was actually sensitive unlike his tempered body that was so used to pain. It was still fireproof like the rest of him but that was as far as his endurance went with it, it was like any other arm in that time.

Inside Yugito woke up for a moment. She saw her boyfriend standing in the rain, soaked to the bone. He looked so tired, so _old_ standing in the storm. Like he'd seen so much he could write a series of books. But her tired mind didn't really comprehend this. To her, Naruto looked like he could use a long sleep. She tiredly dropped back off, leaving him standing out in the storm, lost in his thoughts.

It rarely rained so heavily during this season in the Land of Fire. By morning it would just be wet ground. Naruto stood on the balcony, absorbed in his mind for a long time, into the dark of the night. He saw the lights in the districts, the vast place that had been his prison, and Namikaze's playground. A voice spoke behind him.

"You've been gone a long time."

He whipped around, flames dancing on his fingertips. There, was a girl, quite young by the look of her. She had straight black hair that went down to mid shoulder and matching dark eyes. She was about his height when he was that age, maybe a little taller.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

She cocked her head to the side. "You don't remember me? We used to be friends, until you ran away."

"I don't know you."

"Really?" Her voice was almost too sweet now. Then she said it, the lights from the hotel shadowing her entire form now.

"Naruto, you're slipping."

A blade flashed as it swung down. He moved back, trying to find a stance, a footing, anything. But he didn't realise he didn't have the room. Naruto fell over the waist height wall of the balcony, into the street below, turning 180 and doing a full flip before landing on cold, wet ground, face down. But his assailant didn't come after him. He got up and jumped back up to the window ledge. There was no blade-wielding attacker, no strange girl. He looked inside, releasing a pulse of chakra to dispel any genjutsu that might be in place. Yugito was still in her bed, asleep. Then he checked his sensory ability and negative emotion sensing. No people with hostile intentions or chakra signatures in range. No one was that fast, not even a Speed Magic user. If they had moved out of his range, which seemed hard to believe since it spanned a wide area and was thorough, they had moved faster than Rock Lee without his weights AND on shot-run pills. What was going on here? Had he just imagined it?

' _Hey Kurama, do you sense the person who attacked me?_ '

' _ **What person brat? There's no one in my range, which is considerably greater than yours, who has the signs of moving faster than a walk. If it was a teleport I would sense chakra residue from the jump. If they were still around, I would pick up on them.**_ '

' _The person who just tried to slash my head off and disappeared after I fell into the street! They have to be in your range!_ '

' _ **Go see a therapist, you're imagining things fleshling. There is no one who could have attacked you that can hide from me.**_ '

Naruto was thoroughly confused, going inside and drying off then sitting on his bed which he would not be sleeping in. How could that be? He had never experienced delusions of daydreams before. Waking nightmares, yes but never a full on episode like what had just happened. The danger, the _threat_ had been so real! Could it all just be an figment of his imagination? Was it just his own illusion?

"Naruto? Are you okay?"

Yugito was awake. She had opened the window to talk to him.

"Just a hallucination. Thanks."

"You don't usually have those. Nightmares sure but you've never actually seen something that's not there." Her gentle voice was calming, like cold water on a hot day. There was concern in it, worry and even a little fear. Not for herself but for him and his well-being.

"Eh." He shrugged. "I need a walk."

"Then I'm coming with you. No way am I letting you go anywhere on your own here and especially after what you just experienced."

"You shouldn't, you need sleep unlike me."

"Three hours will have to do. Let me get dressed real quick then I'm coming with you." Okay, no changing her mind. Once Yugito got set on something, she would never let it go. It took her about a minute to change into her clothes and pull a hooded cloak over herself to shield from the torrential downpour. He was fine with the rain.

The blonde closed the window and they took off, running and leaping from rooftop to rooftop. Soon they reached the Hokage Monument and sat on the head of the Third Hokage. How long had it been since he been here in Version Two Cloak and roared, striking fear into the village? 6 years, nearly 7 by now.

Yugito's arms wrapped around his neck as they looked out over the village. He leant back into her arms, taking comfort in the warmth, despite the rain being cold as ice on a brisk winter day. He let her pull the cloak around him too, not wanting to resist, he didn't have the heart to. He lost her once already. When she had died, that was when the avatar of Minato had once and truly taken over. Fuu had died the same day, and she had been likely equally close to his heart. His left hand came up and held onto her arms.

"I remember when you first met me. That was a good day." She smiled and rested her chin on his head, smiling as she remembered too.

"Yeah, you were so shy. Then when you spoke, it took almost five weeks for you to stop acting like a machine. Then there was the time Fuu and I slapped you and Gaara for getting technical. You two had no sense of humor. "

"Well I managed to grow one with Atlas, not so sure about Gaara though. He still doesn't know yet."

"You're going to give him his memories right?"

"As best I can. You know there were gaps that I had to restore with you, I got lucky with the others. Fuu isn't going to be betrayed by her teammates, not this time around, I'll see to that. If I can, I'll see if she can join Cloud."

"You know the Raikage has no problem with taking in Jinchuriki, he loves having more of us. I think he's gotten a bit big-headed with you joining."

They talked into the night, just sitting there on the mountain. At about 5 in the morning, Yugito had slumped slightly. She had fallen asleep leaning against him. Carefully, he transferred her sleeping form so she was in his arms. The rain had let up and was but a thin drizzle by 3. Now the village was drying out. Golden days crept over the horizon, dazzling the stone faces. Naruto looked down at the sleeping form of Yugito. She looked so young and carefree asleep, not like her playful but appropriately serious demeanour seemed to be. The hood fell back as dawn broke. Her serene features were angelic. She had neglected to put her headband on, choosing to leave it back at the hotel. The First Exam was today. At least she had gotten some measure of sleep. He hadn't slept properly since they had set out for the Leaf 8 days ago. But he was used to it.

7:30 rolled around and he had to wake up his sleeping beauty. He shook her gently and her eyes blinked open. "Morning beautiful."

"Did I *yawn* seriously sleep on the Hokage mountain?"

"Yep. You did. Now wakey wakey, we've got to get our gear from the hotel and get to the Academy by 11."

"That's plenty of time." She sprang out of his arms and grabbed his left hand without realising it. Naruto rolled his eyes.

"This coming from you, who made us late on graduation day."

"I lost my hair tie okay? Goodness. You're the one who kept nagging that were going to be late and made me miss it on the shelf in the kitchen."

"And how is you being blind my fault?"

"Don't know." Yugito shrugged, jumping on his back. "Now, mush! Breakfast awaits!"

"Crazy woman." Naruto muttered, jumping down to land on the nearest building.

"What was that?"

"I said I love you too, you crazy cat."

"Sarcasm is a sign of bad friendship skills."

"And this is why Bee stuck me with you, I'm the only one who lets you walk all over me."

She ruffled his now dry hair, something she had always done since the Academy just to drive him mad. Thankfully he got a three and a half year break from that but now he had to put up with it again. Thankfully he was the older one, by a few months, so she couldn't hold that one over his head. "You know you love it."

"Love to hate it." He retorted, jumping another roof. Their banter went on until they were back at the window they had left out of. They snagged all of their gear and went down for an early breakfast. But much to his embarrassment, Yugito insisted on holding his flesh hand. A slight red tinge was glazing his cheeks and she threw her head back and laughed like a Cheshire cat, fitting with her feline tendencies.

"Do you really have to hold my hand?"

"Would you prefer if I made you carry me bridal style? Actually that's a good idea, have to try it sometime."

"I will never understand a woman's mind or heart."

"Damn straight you won't. I had to literally shove my tongue down your throat for you to realise I like you. You don't leave like that again." She winked slyly as they sat down at the table. "Or do I have to remind you?"

"No, it's fine if you…"

He never finished his sentence as Yugito sealed his lips with her own, in front of everyone at breakfast no less. The women had an expression like 'has she no shame?' but the guys in the room had far less inhibitions about being vocal. In fact, they were calling for all but marriage.

"Get in there mate!"

"Nice catch!"

"Keep her to yourself unless you want someone to steal her!"

"What a lad!"

"That girl had guts!"

"She ain't afraid to claim her man!"

Naruto felt as if his head would explode from the amount of blood flooding to his cheeks. ' _Okay, this calls for drastic action, and I mean drastic. The guys here clearly support public affection/flirting. And by the sound of it, they're enjoying the show. Well, I might not like public displays of affection but there's no way that I'm letting Yugito get the last laugh! Revenge!_ '

To Yugito's surprise, the snow haired Dragon Slayer didn't pull back but entirely pulled her out of her chair and against his chest. He was wearing the same outfit as yesterday but had yet to zip up his vest. As a result, she could feel his toned muscles under the undershirt he wore. And she was practically on top of him, so she could feel his seemingly perfect abs against her own stomach and his strong arms around her waist and back. Now it was her turn to blush like a tomato. Matatabi squealed inside her mind and Yugito felt Naruto smirk into their lip lock, his bandaged arm holding her head in place. Oh he was in for it. The battle would be continued. Her face went even hotter if that was possible when she heard what the other residents, even the girls now, were saying.

"She's blushing like a tomato!"

"Get a room!"

"One for the dudes!"

But Naruto wasn't done. When he finally released her, Yugito swiped at his head but he leaned back and caught her hand, in his own, somehow holding it like she were royalty. He planted a kiss on her hand and said, "My lady."

Steam came from her ears as Yugito's face reached temperatures able to melt metal and she let out a very high-pitched and girly squeal. Not like her at all. Then one guy all but yelled,

"Kid, you are a hero to all men!"

"Thank you! I aim to please, the people and my princess!" Naruto called back. That was the killer blow. Yugito stuttered, her voice very faint.

"... Pr… princess? Wha..."

Then she fainted, right into his arms. He leant down and whispered in her ear.

" _What goes around comes around, my stunning angel. Karma's a bitch ain't it?_ "

The display over, everyone went back to whatever they were doing before Yugito pulled her stunt. Naruto pulled Yugito into his lap to stop her falling off and laid her gently against his chest, a self-satisfied smirk on his face. Clapping came from behind him. And there stood Killer Bee, his grin as wide as a banana and his teeth shining like the sun. He sat in Yugito's former place and extended his hand for a fist bump which Naruto returned.

"That's the jam, my man! Congrats, excuse my raps!" Bee loaded his plate with sausages, bacon, an apple and some buttered toast and continued. "So what's the story? Don't bore me!"

"Okay. Once upon a time there was a kitty cat. That kitty cat was a feisty and cheeky kitty cat. So feisty and cheeky, she tried to embarrass the dragon she liked by kissing him in front of a whole bunch of people. But the dragon was part fox, so he made a cunning plan. He turned the kitty cat's kiss against her and made her feel his guns, treated her like a noble and called her princess. The kitty cat got so embarrassed she fainted and the foxy dragon had to keep her in his lap until the kitty cat woke up. And they lived happily ever after."

The Eight Tails Jinchuriki broke out laughing. Never, in all her life, had Yugito ever fainted, least of all from embarrassment of all causes.

"Woah! Gotta keep that on the down-low! Get careless one day, some fella steal her away! Brother you have balls of steel! Fo' real!"

"Nah, I'm keeping this kitty. She's mine! My kitty!" Naruto mimicked snarling at Bee who just laughed again, whilst holding the blonde tight. Eventually she woke up. To find herself in Naruto's lap.

"Wakey wakey kitty, your milk is going cold."

Yugito hissed lightly and poked him in the chest, sitting up. She pouted when she saw their sensei had stolen her chair. Seeing no other choice that she could be bothered to take, she remained on Naruto's lap, stealing his food as payback which he didn't mind in the slightest. He just put more food on it and let her eat what she wanted. The joke about her drinking milk hadn't been entirely incorrect since she did have a habit of drinking milk with breakfast as a general rule. Yugito was cheered up by the fact that her glass of milk hadn't gone cold.

When they set out for the Academy, it was 9:35. As revenge for his revenge, she made Naruto carry her bridal style as she had thought about earlier. "You are in trouble for that Naruto. I can't believe you made me faint! In front of people!"

"Then don't try to reenact the scene in the alley in public." He grinned cheekily. "I'm not just gonna let you always get the last laugh anymore, dragon's pride remember?"

 **AN: And that's chapter 14. Before you go guys, a few things. One, there's a poll on my profile relating to this story given I want reader input at points in this story and after that one is closed, there's a second one I will put up. Two, to those people who don't want to read Naruto canon, the Chunin Exams is the only part left from that, after that's done, Naruto will only ever return to the Shinobi World a max of 5 times, and that's long off. So those who want to see Fairy Tail Naruto can relax and know that he's mostly done in the Naruto universe. Third, I know the story doesn't make much sense now, it's called plot development over time, I'm not going to just tell you everything straight up. And lastly, if you don't like this story, or certain parts of it, tell me why when you review so I can make it better or avoid it in future. Just saying that you don't like it or it doesn't make sense isn't helpful.**


	15. For Old Times Sake

**AN: Warning, dark content ahead. As such, the rating has been raised to M. Just warning you guys now so you don't flip out in your reviews as much. Remember...** **I WARNED YOU!**

The Leaf Academy was just as he remembered it. Full of brats in classrooms and teachers trying to enforce some form of order in their classrooms. His teeth gritted and a low and menacing growl came from his throat. His fellow Jinchuriki turned to him. "What's up?"

"Nothing." Naruto ground out. "Just remembering how much I absolutely **hate** this place."

"Let's just get to the exam room and get this over with. The sooner it's over with, the sooner you can vent in the Second Exam."

They walked past everyone on floor 2 and proceeded to the correct floor, both noticing the genjutsu on the door everyone was crowded around. Genjutsu didn't work on Jinchuriki for long. The corridor above was relatively uncrowded. Naruto leaned against the wall beside the door and crossed his arms. Soon enough, Naruko's team came up. He had been the fourth member of that team last time. By the look of them, all three were more advanced than they had been in the old timeline. He was more or less right next to them so he could overhear what was said.

"You rookies shouldn't be so loud, it's a sure-fire way to get yourself killed." That bastard Kabuto! He could barely hold himself back from unleashing a firestorm on the Sound spy. He moved along the wall with a quick Body Flicker and was leaning against it right behind Kabuto.

"I've got info on most of the contestants here if you guys wanna know anything. Tell me a name and I'll tell you what I've got on them."

Sasuke and Naruko answered.

"Gaara of the Sand, Rock Lee and Neji Hyūga."

"Blazing Dragon."

Kabuto shuffled through his cards and picked out four.

"Okay, first up is Gaara of the Sand. He's from Sand so I don't have as much on him but I know he's the youngest child of the Fourth Kazekage and has completed 38 D Ranks, 14 C Ranks and 2 B Ranks. Wow, he's nothing to scoff at. And get this, he's never been scratched in his whole career."

All of the Rookie 9 were surprised.

"What?!"

"Yeah. Moving on, Rock Lee. He's got basically no skills except his Taijutsu is specialist level. Teammates are Tenten and Neji Hyūga. Speaking of our resident genius, he's from the Hyūga Clan so he by default has the Byakugan. His Ninjutsu and Genjutsu are average but his Taijutsu is way up there. And lastly…"

Naruto and Yugito's ears pricked up now. His card then?

"... Blazing Dragon of the Hidden Cloud. Oh boy is he something. No one outside his village knows his real name or why he's called what he is. Ninjutsu is pretty good, primarily known to use Fire Style but he's demonstrated some Lightning Style too, Genjutsu apparently just doesn't work on him unless it's high B Rank or above. But according to my intel, he's described as purely deadly in Taijutsu and weapon usage. He has completed 43 D Ranks, 18 C Ranks, 5 B Ranks and a single A Rank mission." Naruto nodded internally. Those stats were more or less correct. "He's only got one teammate though, goes by the name of Yugito Nii. His sensei is Killer Bee, the brother of the Raikage and the Eight Tails Jinchuriki. But try this, he and his teammate both graduated at age 8 and are classified as an assault team but they earned the shared nickname 'Fire Juggernauts' since they've never been beaten by their peers or any opposition they've had on missions. He's also managed to earn himself the name 'Devil in Flesh' when he turned a robber to ash by burning them alive."

"Tell me you're kidding!" Kiba exclaimed.

"No." Naruto made himself known. His hair hung in front of his face, obscuring his eyes from their view. "He's not lying. I did set a robber on fire and let him burn to death but he had it coming. He was part of a bandit gang that kidnapped young girls and women and 'enjoyed' them. It was nothing personal to me, but it was revenge for those people. And he has my stats about right too. But if you could stop openly showing that you've committed espionage in other villages, that'd be great."

"Uh, right. Anyway, watch out for Stone, Cloud and Mist but don't worry about anyone from Sound, they're nothing really good. And the Rain ninja are sneaky."

Before the three Sound ninja in the room could jump the gun and try to mug Kabuto off, the Proctor for the First Exam turned up yelled at them all.

"Alright you brats! Listen up, because I'm only going to say this once! These three rooms have been divided into cubicles and inside each is a prisoner to interrogate. You have an hour to make them crack and tell you what you need to know to proceed to the Second Exam. But first, there is a question that must be answered correctly to even begin this. If you fail this exam, you will never advance beyond Genin. So, will you drop out now? If you do not wish to remain a Genin your whole life, the stairs are to your right ladies and gentlemen."

Typical Ibiki, mind games. About a quarter wussed out right there. Well there went their chance at promotion this year. After they had left, people lined up and took a slip of paper from a box, telling them which room and which cubicle in that room. He and Yugito drew Room 307 with cubicle 16E and they entered their interrogation exam. Naruko and her team got the one next to theirs by some coincidence.

"You want this one Naruto?"

He cracked his knuckles. Then his neck with a sickening 'crunch'. Even Yugito winced at that one. His draconic pupils sharpened to knife slits and the stormy blue iris blazed fiery orange with barely contained ferocity.

"Give me five minutes."

Next door, Naruko, Sasuke and Sakura heard the screams of the prisoner to the right and a ear-piercingly deafening growl/roar like sound. What could make a person scream like that? Sasuke activated his Sharingan and let the red eyes glow as they bore into the dull green of their allocated person to interrogate. He spoke, absolutely commanding, projecting Genjutsu off his eyes. "You **will** tell me what I want to know if you value your sanity at all."

The illusion dragged his target in with ease and within half an hour, they knew what they needed. Training ground 44, the Forest of Death. When they got there, Blazing Dragon and Yugito were already there, looking bored. They kept their distance. If they had been done so quickly, they must of been incredibly skilled or just outright brutal.

"I can't believe all you had to do was look at him. Forget five minutes, he cracked in under two."

"What can I say, the visage of Atlas I seem to make them see is terrifying, along with my vocal Roar. He soiled himself." Naruto shrugged. He didn't know why they always seemed to see a ghostly version of Atlas about him whenever he used his sound Roar. Probably the sound and eyes combined. The others took longer to arrive and among them, he spied Fuu and her teammates. But he didn't recognise them, they weren't the ones who had betrayed Fuu and sold her out to Akatsuki. By the look of the Seven Tails Jinchuriki, she was ever the hyperactive 11 year old. He was almost 13, only 2 and a half months to his birthday and Yugito's was 6 months away.

' _6 containers of Tailed Beast power. If we all come in close proximity while using our Tailed Beast's powers for a decent period of time, Ten Tails will surely stir. Hell, maybe even the full form of Shukaku would be enough. I hope Sensei isn't pushed into transforming at the same time since I'd rather not deal with it waking up and clashing with the seal while I'm fighting anyone._ ' Naruto was pulled from his thoughts when the Second Proctor showed up.

"Yo brats, name's Anko. Welcome to your second exam. This is the Forest of Death or as I call it, Anko's little playground. In this place are carnivorous beasts, poisonous plants, natural death-traps and other assorted ways to die. But first you've gotta sign these forms." A paper was handed to each participant and they were given pens to sign them.

"What are these?" A random Genin shouted out.

"Release forms, stating that any injury, trauma or death are not the responsibility of the Leaf. Can't have your deaths on my conscious, can I?" Anko replied cheerfully. _Way_ too cheerfully.

Naruto and Yugito were among the first to sign the forms and went to wait in line while the 'crazy snake lady' as Naruko had dubbed her explained the exam.

"What you got to do is very simple. Each team is given a scroll. There are two types of scroll. Heaven..." She held up a tan scroll with the kanji for 'Heaven' on it. "And Earth." Anko held up a brown scroll with the kanji for 'Earth' on it. "Those who get a Heaven scroll have to take an Earth Scroll from another team and vice versa. This exam is gonna cut you lot down by half at least. Now one by one, go in that tent over there and hand in your scrolls. You'll be given a scroll. Now move your little butts!"

And move their butts they did. A team or two bolted right there, running away while the female snake summoner laughed. Then a kunai went flashing at Naruto's face when he scowled. Anko appeared behind him, waiting for the kunai to slice his cheek. But instead of veering away or letting it cut him, Naruto caught the blade in the crushing grip of his right hand. His words rumbled from his throat, the deep tone of his voice surprising the Special Jonin when she saw his literally fiery eyes.

"Don't you even dare, Leaf Ninja! The others here might just roll over and take your abuse but I'm not like these _humans_ , I have my pride and I won't let a bloody bimbo like you insult me with such derogatory actions! So keep your kunai to yourself and grow a sense of decency!" He dropped the crushed blade in the dirt and walked inside the little hut. He and Yugito handed in their forms and were given an Earth Scroll. He silently spoke in her head with his Dragon Telepathy so they couldn't be overheard.

' _You take the scroll since I made a scene there and now they'll expect me to be overconfident enough to carry it myself._ '

Yugito took the brown scroll and sealed it into a storage seal on her clothing. ' _Sure. I got no idea why you suddenly just went dark there but please be careful._ '

' _I know but I hate this place. It was my prison for 23 years, I won't take this lying down, I have my damn dragon pride. It doesn't let me just roll over and take stuff anymore, I'm forced to retaliate. Let's stick with the plan and split up once we're inside, we've got objectives._ '

' _Sure, quick recap for my sake. I go and protect your twin's team from Orochimaru and others and if possible, avert the Curse Mark being placed on the Uchiha, you shadow Fuu and pick off other teams to get us a Heaven Scroll and we meet at the tower best case scenario, which is probably not happening, knowing our luck. I miss anything?_ ' The blonde questioned, tightening the strap of her shuriken holster around her thigh as they waited for the start of the exam at their allocated gate.

' _That's more or less it._ ' He mentally replied and tightened the bandages around his right arm. The speaker blared with the go signal and the gates opened. ' _Let's do this crap and get done with this stage so we can get out of here as soon as possible. I don't want to stay in_ his _village any longer than I have to._ '

They blurred apart and went after their respective targets, using their Jinchuriki and Dragon Slayer senses respectively to track down Naruko and Fuu's teams. Even though he hadn't yet 'met' Fuu as he did last time, he could remember her scent like it was Yugito's.

He could never forget anything about his precious people. Their looks, personalities, mannerisms, chakra signatures and even their scents. Bee smelt like octopus and electricity, Yugito like cats and sweet smoke, Gaara's scent was metallic and fresh like a breeze. Natsu smelt like a forest fire and reptiles, Wendy like fresh air and reptiles, Atsuko like fresh soil from a garden and reptiles also. It seemed to be a common feature with which he could identify Dragon Slayers. They always smelt like something to do with their element and reptiles. His own scent had been described by Atlas to be an amalgam of a fox fur, old dust, a pyre and the wind. A combination of the aspects of him, Kurama in his gut, the dust smell that portrayed his journeys through Chronus' cosmos, his magic, his prominent and strong nature for the fire element, from both his magic and primary chakra nature of Fire and the wind, his secondary nature. But Fuu's was unique also. Hers was akin to rushing water, the fresh wind and bugs, her chakra natures Wind and Water and Seven Tails in her.

She was not too far off, but not all that close either. It would take while to reach her and there were several teams between them. Time to hunt for scrolls on the way.

…..

With Fuu, her team wasn't doing so well to say the least. They had run right into a senior team of Rain Genin who were now toying with them. The leader of her team, Hitodama, was being cut to pieces. Kunai whizzed left right and centre. He cried out, leaping away.

"Fuu! Cover!"

"Right!" She called back. She flicked through hand signs and expelled a massive amount of shiny power from her lungs. The rays of sunlight were reflected off it, temporarily blinding everyone.

"Secret Ninjutsu: Scaled Sneak Jutsu!"

But her hiding jutsu was their undoing. Her two teammate, Hitodama and Arashi were riddled with kunai from within the vision obscuring mist of scale powder. When it faded, Fuu saw the result. The crimson lifeblood of her teammates was splattered all over them and the ground. They fell either side of the clearing from the air, the mint haired girl unmoving with shock at the brutal murders committed in front of her. Her hands hit the dirt and she collapsed into a kneeling position, coming slowly back to reality.

"Just us an' you now little girl." A Rain Genin smirked sickly as he cracked his knuckles. Fuu had just watched her teammates be slain by these three maniacs and now they had turned to her. "And now it's your turn."

The mint haired girl raised her arms around her head and shut her eyes, screaming,

"Please, don't kill me!"

The apparent leader of the Hidden Rain team grabbed her arms and pinned her to the ground. His friend grabbed them as he released them and held her there. The one who hadn't done anything yet stabbed a senbon into her side. A numb feeling spread through her body. Poison!

"Paralysis poison. Very useful, especially for times like this." The boy, the whole team was male, who was holding her arms let go and she found she indeed could not move anymore. Only her mouth worked.

"I don't wanna die!"

The first boy smirked.

"Aw, well that's too bad. What kind of gentleman would we be if we didn't let you die fulfilled? Don't worry, we won't let you die a virgin."

The sickos! They was going to rape her! It was horrifying to think of! Agonisingly, the three boys ripped off her clothes and bit by bit revealed her body. First to be torn off was the red cylinder on her back and thrown away into the shrubbery. Then one of them used a kunai to cut the side of and throw away her white top, leaving the Waterfall Genin with only a crop-top fishnet vest and orange combat bra covering her upper body. Then her arm warmers, one having her headband on, were pulled off and she was helpless to stop them. Her white apron skirt was cut away and then they started pulling off the fishnet, all the while Fuu was crying and too fearful to make a sound. Finally they had all her clothes off and she was left bare as the day she was born on the ground, her caramel skin open to the world. They were fumbling with their own clothes now, standing over her. As tears rolled down her cheeks, she closed her eyes and prayed for it to be over quick.

And then, in an instant…

 **BOOM!**

The ground shattered, the Rain Genins were sent flying into a hard tree each and Fuu was no longer pronely helpless on the ground. A new set of arms held her, bridal style, and the person holding her skidded back. The left hand, holding her knees, was raging with incredible warmth while the other supporting her bare back was stone cold and… bandaged? A growling sound came from in front of her face and Fuu's eye snapped open. Snow white hair greeted her eyes and, through the swaying threads, she saw the most piercing eyes she had seen in her whole life. They weren't just cold, they were absolute zero. Stormy, darkened blue with slitted pupils betrayed immense rage and disgust. His voice ground out.

" _Not again._ "

His head snapped up and he bellowed at the Genins now back on their feet with such ferocity and his eye blazed.

" **Never again! You! Goddamned!** _ **Humans**_ **! No one does that! No creature with a fucking conscious violates a little girl! You were going to rape her! And I've had it! You touched Fuu… NOW YOU DIE!** "

…..

"Summoning Jutsu!"

A giant snake appeared under the attacking Grass ninja. Naruto ran right on forwards, right at it.

"You think you scare me?! I'm gonna kick your ass!"

"Naruko, no!" Sasuke yelled. "He's no Genin, he's up there with the Hokage in terms of chakra! You can't take him alone!"

"I've gotta try! I'm not giving up! Not until I find my brother!" She screamed, her eyes turning red with slitted pupils. The chakra of the Nine Tails began to flow and she leapt in the air. "Are you an Uchiha or not?! 'Cause the Sasuke I know would never give up!"

She was right.

Sasuke's Sharingan blazed and he jumped into right after her. A pair of Shadow Clones appear behind her and flung her up higher. Naruko hurled shuriken down from above at the snake summoner, a rain of steel. He performed seals in an instant and blew them away with a blast of wind. But that was what Sasuke was counting on. His Phoenix Flower burnt through the wind and, enhanced by it, soared on at the guy who called himself 'Orochimaru the Snake Sannin'. If he remembered correctly, there were three Sannin, hence the name. If this one was Orochimaru, then the other two, Tsunade the Slug Princess and Jiraiya the Toad Sage were somewhere else. When he last did his reading, Tsunade had left the village after the Second Great Ninja War and Jiraiya was the spymaster of the Leaf so he was never in one place for very long periods of time.

"For one so set on killing the traitor of your clan, you truly seem to be lacking, Sasuke."

He nearly froze up. But his body kept moving, not skipping a beat, he danced around the countless earth bullets that punched through the wood of the branches, responding calmly.

"I have found that there is more to losing the people I loved. With those bond gone forever, I can never get them back, _but_ , I can make new ones to fill the hole in my heart. It isn't revenge if your target doesn't suffer, and there is no greater suffering for a man like _him_ than going to all that effort if making me hate him and then I rise above that hate. Everything he worked for would be ruined and I would have had my revenge. I know what he experienced to get some of the power he has today and what he felt. And I will never be like that! I will never become so cold!" Sasuke shouted, taking a jump right at the Sannin with a kunai in one hand, four shuriken in the other.

He hurled the shuriken and, predicting an opening, let Orochimaru dodge around them, and struck. His blade sliced through muscle, bone and flesh, drawing a diagonal line across the pale man's back. But he use the Snake Style Substitution, vomiting himself up. His tongue wrapped around Naruko, restraining her and his hand closed with chakra. He slammed his fingers into her seal and the Nine Tails Chakra vanished, the girl falling helplessly.

"That's enough out of you!"

Sakura caught her teammate and retreated a bit to take care of her. Kushina had managed to find her role on a battlefield in the two months she had been tutoring her at Minato's order. Sakura was a medical and support type ninja, and she just about had support down, she just needed a teacher for Medical Ninjutsu. She could help from the side-lines. Sasuke sighed in relief. Naruko was okay. But the distraction made him drop his guard.

Orochimaru's fangs sank into his neck, a three tomoe pattern appearing next to the wound. The Uchiha fell on one knee and the snake's long neck shortened back to regular length.

"I hope you find the guts to use my gift Sasuke."

The pain burned across his shoulder. But it was nothing, still nothing compared to the pain he had inside. "Hah, as if I'd ever use anything other than my own strength. I don't need a crutch!" It burned greater. But his will and inner pain were greater still. His eyes ate a bucket load of his chakra and he summoned his strongest power as of right now. The Mangekyō Sharingan. But, as he called on them, he spoke, flooding his eyes with chakra.

"I… will never let my comrades die!"

Onyx flames ignited on Orochimaru and he had to vomit himself out several times to escape them. But the damage was done. The pinnacle of Fire Style had caught his leg and burnt it severely. His Amaterasu really was amazing. His Sharingan faded and he was left on his last legs as Yugito landed next go him.

"I'll take it from here Uchiha, take a nap."

A Mouse Hairball exploded the branch where Orochimaru was standing. She flared the chakra of Matatabi and he felt it, the potent energy of a Tailed Beast. The snake knew he couldn't win so he fled.

.….

He laid her gently on the ground and unzipped his own vest, using it to cover her violated innocence as best he could. The air tripled in pressure and tiny stones began to rise around the mysterious new boy, from his aura alone. It felt like pure wrath, anger itself in the truest form. Then he shot forward. His sharp nails carved a massive gouge in the side of one boy. The other two pulled out kunai and ran to their deaths, engaging the newcomer. The bandaged hand grasped one of their wrists and in a heartless instant, crushed it. The Rain ninja howled in pain and tried to pull away. But there was only death. A kunai appeared in the stormy eyed boy's left hand and buried itself upwards into the trapped boy's ribcage, piercing a lung. A simple Body Flicker and he behind the next. In a flash the boy with snow hair snapped his neck and moved on to the one he originally targeted.

Lightning began to chirp in his left hand. In a matter of seconds, it was a raging weapon of assassination and was plunged through the heart of the only one still alive and the wielder snarled,

" **Chidori!** "

He tore his hand out and used the newly made corpse's clothes to clean the blood off himself. Then he walked back to Fuu, forming a clone that ran off into the forest for some reason. With care that contradicted the brutal killings he had just performed, he lifted her back off the ground and her up into a sitting position all the while holding her up. His hand felt so warm on her bare back. His face showed only kindness now. Orange light shone from his hand and now in it was a new set of clothes in 15 seconds. Gently, he pulled the black high collared shirt over her head and down so it covered her entire torso. In fact, it was a bit long for her. On the back was a white spiral, the symbol of the Uzumaki Clan. He did the same for the shinobi pants, of the same dull black, and she was now wearing some form of clothing. Her feet were still bare.

"It's going to be okay, I'll protect you. Sorry I couldn't give you a full set of clothes but when we meet up I'll ask my teammate to lend you some of her stuff so you'll feel more comfortable. I can't do anything about the poison but it will wear off in time. I'll carry you so don't worry. I promise, everything will be okay."

He took care as he transferred her to his back, her arms over his shoulder and her legs hanging from his sides. A piggyback. He took off into the trees but at a pace she could stay on his back. Her murmuring wasn't missed.

" _Thank you._ "

"I'd do it a thousand times over."

Then she asked, " _What's your name?_ "

"I'm Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki Flame."

Naruto soared through the forest and in half an hour, they were at the little camp Naruko's team had set up. Thank God he had learnt some basic Requip from one of the younger wizards of Fairy Tail, a redhead called Erza Scarlet. There was a blonde girl waiting at the entrance to the alcove for him.

"What took you so… is that… Fuu?"

"Yes." He replied. "A Rain team killed hers and were about to do something I will never forgive when I made it. "

"You mean… _that?_ " He only nodded. "That is utterly disgusting! Tell me you made them pay!"

"I extinguished their lives immediately. The worst met his end when I obliterated his heart with One Thousand Birds. None will live through what I did to them. That's why Fuu is wearing my clothes, they destroyed hers."

A Shadow Clone landed at his side, carrying her beetle cylinder. He gave it to Yugito along with a headband and turned to Naruto. "I found it in the bushes and was able to retrieve Fuu's headband. Their bodies are burning in a smoking pile for anyone to find and I made sure to snap their headbands." The original nodded and the clone quickly dispelled in a cloud of smoke. The trio walked inside the hideaway and Naruto hitched Fuu up to make sure she didn't fall. Her orange eyes were dull when they should be full of life.

Yugito laid a scroll out on the ground and unravelled them. From it she summoned a set of underwear for Fuu and took her fellow Jinchuriki and helped her into them out of sight. She came back carrying the mint headed girl and gently laid her on the ground next to Sasuke and Naruko. ' _I got there too late to stop Orochimaru placing the Curse Mark but I scared him off before he did any real damage._ '

The elder twin took Sasuke and sat him upright, pulling his shirt collar down a bit so he could see the three tomoe mark on his shoulder.

' _Looks like the snake bastard did his homework from what I can tell. I'm no Seal Master but I know a well put together Curse Mark when I see one._ ' He spoke in his teammate's mind with his Dragon Telepathy.

' _How bad?_ ' Yugito mentally asked from beside Fuu. Naruto shook his head and made a wretching motion.

' _Still taking root and fighting past his immune system but I can sense imperfect Sage chakra in it. Looks to me like the Curse Mark has a double function and three parts, hence the three marks. The first part is the actual enzyme that is drawing in Nature Energy and merging it Sasuke's chakra forcibly, this is the basis if I had to guess. Then there's the worst part of the whole thing. There's a fragment of Orochimaru's soul in this thing that I can sense with the powers Shinigami gave me as his servant. This is why it errodes his personality and makes him a minion of the snake freak. As to why it's so damn addictive, the enzyme is a diluted form of someone's DNA and once it fully takes root, it will have genetically merged with his body. I can remove it now since it's not set in yet. If I found it a day later it would be too late._ '

' _Are you going to?_ '

' _I owe Itachi my freedom, I'll do what I can to help Sasuke._

' _Still having trouble wrapping my head around the whole idea of you owing your free will to the guy who destroyed his whole clan in a single night._ '

Naruto began to pull off the blue shirt and Sakura asked,

"What are you doing?"

He gritted his teeth in annoyance. "Well, I'm going to try and remove this damn Curse Mark before it sets in and your precious Uchiha becomes a puppet of Orochimaru's will. That is, unless you like the idea of him becoming the snake's bitch." That shut her up. He didn't mean to be overly rude but he really didn't have time.

Underneath the bandages that wrapped his right arm, the scales raised a little, just enough to allow chakra through. Yugito came over and held the Uchiha up while Naruto pulled a small scroll from his pouch and put it lengthways in Sasuke's mouth so he would bite down on it. His right hand clamped down on the part of Sasuke's neck that held the developing Curse Mark and he groaned internally.

' _Absorbing this Sage chakra, imperfect or no, is gonna hurt like a bitch!_ '

With that thought, he latched on the vile chakra and drew it in, almost screaming with the pain to his right arm. Thankfully it was a small amount but it still burned like all hell. Patches of sticky blood stained his bandages from the bleeding flesh beneath the scales. The Sage chakra was tearing his arm apart from the inside out. All that could be heard from Naruto mentally, much to the amusement of the Yin fox inside him, were the repeated profanities.

' _Fuck! Shit! Cunt! It burns! Fuck this shit, I'm out! Fuck my life in the ass with a rusty pike! Fuck, shit! I fucking hate you Orochimaru! Shit! Balls! Cockarse! FUCK!_ '

Finally the chakra was extracted and he could focus on the Mark itself. But first that piece of soul had to come out. Seizing it with his ability to touch souls, granted to him when he made the deal with Shinigami, he began to tear it out. Within a minute of struggle, a small, writhing ethereal Orochimaru was in his grasp and only he could see it. He snarled.

"Be gone!"

And he cast the soul out. Taking a kunai, he stabbed a little into Sasuke's neck and began the risky process of bleeding the enzyme out of him. It took a few more minutes and he saw much of the grey-black liquid come out, about the amount that could fit in fangs like the snake bastard had and he was satisfied. Naruto took a bandage and wrapped the wound he made so it wouldn't bleed Sasuke to death then collapsed.

Yugito and Sakura took care of them for the night and when he woke in the morning, they continued to the tower. He took his twin on his back, for old times sake, for all the times he had been like Itachi, ruffling her hair and saying 'later' 'sorry' and 'maybe next time'. Yugito carried Fuu and Sakura held Sasuke up as they soared through the forest, swiftly making for the tower. When they hit a Genjutsu, Naruto released a large burst of chakra to dispel the whole thing and they continued. When they landed next to the tower, he put Naruko down, took out an Earth Scroll and handed it to Sakura.

"Take this. I noticed you have Heaven and Yugito and I have a full set already so we don't need it. Don't ask me why I'm doing this, I don't know myself." Okay that was a lie. "When they wake up, tell Uzumaki I helped you so we can meet at the 'zenith', exactly that. Other than that, it was whim. I suggest you camp inside the tower where it's safe until they wake. And Uchiha owes his freedom from that Curse Mark to me."

They walked in their separate entrances and Yugito laid the scrolls out on the ground in theirs. The Summoning Jutsu activated and Killer Bee appeared in the place where he was meant to. Upon seeing Fuu and her condition, he chose not to rap for the first time since Naruto had turned up in Storm Cloud Ravine.

"Y'all has passed, I'm proud of you punks. I see Little Miss Seven but she looks down, what happened?"

Naruto locked eyes with Bee and, through the telepathic bond established by Gyūki, he spoke mentally. ' _Rain Genin tried to rape her. They won't be seen again, well, maybe their corpses will. My clone left their bodies to burn after snapping their headbands. Her team is dead and I refuse to leave her. I won't let_ that _happen again, never again!_ '

' _Gotcha, fool ya fool. I'll have a word with Big Brother to see if she can join._ '

' _ **Go get some sleep Naruto, goodness knows you need it.**_ ' This time it was Gyūki who spoke. ' _ **The cat told me you've not slept since we got here. Your furball might not be worried anymore but that fireball and Yugito worry about you like nothing else. You're gonna need your strength for the finals and you know what's happening then.**_ '

' _I don't trust Namikaze not to try something if he hasn't already found me out. Who know what he might try to pull._ '

" _ **And I'm always alert, whether Bee's awake or not so I can make him wake if need be. I know you can't lower your guard but take it a little easier. Your little nickname and new appearance has fooled them all so far. But I'm not so sure about your plans for the night of the full moon.**_ '

' _This is something I have to do… I'll admit I am nervous but I must face my fears. Fine, I'll sleep tonight but until the month training time, I'm not relaxing._ ' With the present matter settled, the trio went up to dorms provided for those who finished before the five day time limit was up. So far it was only day 3.

There were four bunks in each room so they could have one each. Naruto transferred Fuu back to bridal carry and laid her gently on a ground level bed. He brushed her mint hair back and rose to stand when he felt a weak grip on his wrist so he stopped. He looked down and saw Fuu's small, caramel skinned hand around his arm. Her voice was low and she looked scared. " _Please don't go._ "

The girl had only just met him, again for Naruto, and she already trusted him to watch over her as she slept. Moving to sit on the bed, he smiled and let her hold his flesh hand. So far her mobility had only returned to her arms but he would take care of his fellow Jinchuriki, no matter what that meant. If he had to help her get dressed every day and feed her, he would do it. Because, when he came back in time, he made a promise. He had promised to protect all those he held dear. Yugito, Killer Bee, Gaara, Fuu. That promise had now extended to all of Fairy Tail. Natsu, Wendy, Atsuko, Gray, Erza, Lisanna. He wanted to protect them all.

"I promise you this, Fuu. I will be your guardian angel forever, even after I die. In this world or any other, there is nothing I would not do for my family, my fellow Jinchuriki." Her eyes widened at that. "If I had to, I would slay the gods themselves for any of you. Sleep well Lucky Seven, Nine will watch over you like the ancient days. As will Two and Eight isn't far away either. You're not alone Little Sister. Either of you."

As he spoke. Naruto's eyes had turned red with slits. The eyes of the Nine Tails, Fuu realised. From inside her seal, the Seven Tails spoke, astonished.

' _ **Nine Tails? He's watching over us from inside the boy? This I feel is true Fuu, I can feel the eldest of us in him. For some reason it feels different than last time I came near one of his Jinchuriki but how, I cannot say. Little Sister Mata is inside that girl and the muscle man has Big Brother Gyūki in him too. So many of us in one place, this hasn't happened in a long time. You are safe Fuu, sleep. I haven't seen those eyes that way in centuries and it means that none can hurt you.**_ '

' _What do you mean?_ '

' _ **In the days before he was dragged into darkness, Big Brother Nine Tails protected all of us 8 who were younger than him. He wasn't always the Demon Fox but once he was the Guardian Fox Spirit to us. But as time went on and the dark began to seep into him, he forbade us to speak his name. None of us alone or all of us together can challenge him as he possess power beyond all of us together. It used to be used to keep us in check but later he used it to assert his dominance and subjugate us. If his eyes show the look they do now, Nine Tails is beginning to rise above his hatred.**_ '

Fuu slowly drifted off to sleep, holding Naruto's hand the whole time. Who could blame her, no one should have to suffer that. In her sleep, the look of constant fear faded from her cute features and all that was left was a peaceful child. Yugito smiled.

"She hasn't changed really, still the same old little kid who's hyper 24 7. Give her time and she'll bounce right back. To think she's only 11. We're nearly 13 too."

"Maybe if she… gains a little insight… she'll spring back sooner." Naruto thought out loud. A small stream of golden energy flowed from the necklace around his neck and lit up his fingers.

"So soon?"

"I know it's selfish but… I want her back already. Now that's she's right here, I can't wait any longer. She'd get mad if I didn't wake her up the first chance I got and angry Fuu is not something either of us want to deal with." A small smile graced his face at the memory of the time Fuu had slapped him and Gaara for 'droning on'. He poked her forehead like Itachi had done to him and Sasuke and the golden energy sank into her brain, granting her the memories of her 'other' life. A memory, one he would very much give anything to prevent happening again, came for the forefront of his mind.

 _He clutched the two bodies in his arms as tear rushed down his face. Naruto held the broken forms of Yugito and Fuu in his arm as he held them close as if trying to pull them back to life._

" _No… First Gaara who was revived, now you Yugito?" Her closed lids didn't crack in the slightest, no sign of opening. He kissed her one last time and put the blonde gently on the ground then cradled the smaller Jinchuriki, sobbing uncontrollably._

" _You too Fuu? Dammit! If only this seal allowed me to go and save you! If only that avatar would have backed down! I could have saved at least one of you maybe! I hate this curse of life. Life took you from me, and someday it will take me too." His sadness was uncontrollable._

" _DAMN IT ALL! IF THERE ARE ANY GODS OF THIS CRUEL WORLD, I HATE YOU! I LOVED THEM AND YOU TOOK THEM FROM ME! I WILL NEVER FORGIVE THIS!"_

 _He broke down again cradling Fuu's lifeless form. The avatar of Minato was rising to the surface but he shoved it back down for now so he could grieve in peace. His lips touched her own cold ones and he kissed the mint haired girl goodbye._

" _Goodbye Fuu… I love you and Yugito and that will never change! Please, when I die, forgive me! The world took you from me. I am not strong but I will always remember you." His voice trembled now._

" _Goodbye Fuu… Goodbye… I love you."_

That was the darkest nightmare of them all, where he lost both the girls he loved at the same time. He had never chosen which one he wanted to be with, nor did he think he would ever be able to truly.

' _Damn it! These memories of those I lost don't stop. Atlas, Yugito, Mother, Naruko. It's all too much._ '

It could wait. He had a job to do. He would protect Naruko from all he could. For all the time he wasn't there, for the times he never spent with her.

For old times sake.

His head was suddenly wracked with pain and he uttered the name again, not knowing why he knew it, or why it seemed to be so important to him. It was like he couldn't remember.

" _Satsuki._ "

 **Spells/Jutsu:**

 **Summoning Jutsu - Kuchiyose no Jutsu**

 **Secret Ninjutsu: Scaled Sneak Jutsu - Hiden:Rinpungakure no Jutsu**

 **Body Flicker Jutsu - Shunshin no Jutsu**


	16. No Strength In Your Step Anymore

Naruto woke up in the middle of the night. He sat up and looked out the window of the tower. He saw the starlit sky, saw the waxing gibbous moon. Midnight was upon the Leaf.

' _Midnight… I never realised how beautiful it is until now._ '

' _ **Yes. It is beautiful. So beautiful that even damnable humans cannot degrade the magnificence of a moonrise.**_ '

' _Good morning to you too Kurama._ ' Naruto yawned quietly. Sleeping was something he had found harder as of late. He entered the seal and found himself sitting with his back to Kurama's cage. The dark brown fox was looking through his eyes at the faint white oval like it was heaven on earth. "You seem happy to see it."

" **That bright white light… it reminds me of the first midnight I ever saw, a few hours after the Six Paths gave me life from the Ten Tails' chakra and tamed my urge to destroy everything I saw. It has lasted through the ages with not even the slightest change. You would not know, you are a terrible excuse for a sentient being if you cannot even stick to your guns as humans say.** "

"Kurama, we've been over this. I know I have wronged you, and I am doing my best to make amends. You put aside your hate for 8 years instead of solving it, that I can understand. But what I don't get is why, if you want this world to be what your father envisioned, do you cling to your own hate when the world is so full of it?"

The fox glared down at him.

" **You have no idea what you speak of you little ingrate. Why you persist on perpetually running away is beyond my comprehension, so don't talk to me of not understanding. I have seen eras begin and end, entire civilisations destroy themselves and each other, ages of bloodshed, conflict over the same petty things throughout the centuries. I have lived… no… existed for nearly 25,000 years, 24,902 to be exact, I have seen humanity make the same tired mistakes and fight the same petty wars over and over for the same stupid reasons. We Tailed Beasts grew tired of conflict after conflict with the humans after the first few centuries so we retreated from the world, fading into myth and legend. We could only love each other, our faith in humanity shattered after they spat on the Six Paths' last wish and went so overtly against his vision. His teachings, Ninshu, were perverted and warped into Ninjutsu.**

" **There were only ever two humans we Tailed Beasts completely trusted and cared for and four people in total. The Six Paths, Hagoromo, his brother, Hamura, and his sons. Indra and Ashura were with us our whole lives, then the wicked tongue, some unholy parasite, took possession of Indra's will and caused the cataclysmic battle that devastated the land for the first time since Hagoromo and Hamura battled with the Ten Tails. They were titans among mortals, I would even go as far to call them demigods.**

" **Indra had the Sharingan, like Hagoromo before him, Ashura, a will of titanium that would never give. And as they clashed over and over, their powers evolved. Ashura, through blood, sweat and tears, managed to master Nature Energy and achieved his father's Six Paths Sage Mode, and Indra awakened the Rinnegan in his left eye. In that battle, there was only one way it could end. An outside party would have to tip the scales. I was that tipping point. I sided with Indra, the other Tailed Beasts took Ashura's side. The battle surpassed even the battle against the Ten Tails decades ago. I conquered the others after a battle that lasted weeks, they all crashed to the ground before me and I stood in victory against all 8 at once for the first time. It was the hardest battle of my life and I was weary by the end. But just when I thought I had tipped the scales in Indra's favor, Ashura reversed the tide. He infused all of them with his Sage Chakra and the battle began anew yet again. Indra had little choice.**

" **He rode atop my head and wreathed me in an armor of chakra. His Susanoo became my shield when I was on my last legs and he shared his chakra with me. Ashura used part of his power from Hagoromo, the Truthseeker Orbs, to tear though the wings of Indra's Perfect Susanoo and ground me with them serving as shackles. Then he used his battle avatar, the Ipatus, to tear off the armor Indra gave me and engaged his brother again. When the others came at me once more, I used my tails to seize them by their throats and I took their Sage Chakra into myself and awakened my own Fox Sage Mode. To combat this, Ashura gave all the Sage Chakra he had left to my younger siblings and let us run rampant while he tried to remove the parasite's influence. Once again, I defeated them but one got back up.**

" **Two Tails refused to give in and hurled herself at me, taking advantage of the fact she was my favourite and got past my defenses. She severed one of my tails and in return, I robbed her of one of her eyes. Indra was on his last dregs of strength when I hurled my severed tail at him. He absorbed it with his Rinnegan and pushed Ashura back. It was then that the final battle truly began. My beaten siblings gave their chakra to Ashura and I gave the last of mine to Indra. They both activated chakra modes, Indra's was almost exactly the same as the one you used when you had control of my power before you got yourself shanked through the chest by Ten Tails. They fought for a further day and at the end, Indra was the one who fell. Before he died, he imparted most of his chakra to me and in a moment of freedom from the parasite, crushed his own eyes, telling me to alter the eyes of his descendants, to prevent any activation of the True Mangekyō Sharingan and making it so they could only awaken a ghost form by feeling the grief of a loved one die before them. He hoped his terrible power would never awaken again.**

" **Ashura then came after me. I was unable to think, all I saw was red. The only thing I could understand was that Ashura had killed Indra. In a blind rage, I attacked Ashura, going head to head with his Ipatus. Then I took 7 consecutive Tailed Beast Bombs from my siblings, save Two Tails. They charged a second round and I supercharged one of my own, sending them all up into the sky. Ashura got me from behind, shackling me once more and used Sage Art: Gracious Deity Gates to knock me out. I woke up a whole day later. It was then that I finally realised what I had done. The moment Ashura loosened his restraints, I broke free and gave Two Tails a new eye. Originally, she had two green eyes but her yellow eye was my replacement. I fulfilled Indra's last wish and swore to protect the others once more.**

" **I made a grave mistake, letting Indra and Ashura clash but I immediately fixed it. This is the difference between you and I, brat. I am a creature of action, you are a thing of empty words.** "

Naruto contemplated the words. True enough, he had put off what had to be done with excuses like 'not ready' and 'didn't have enough power to actually make a change'. Kurama spoke again.

" **But there is the faintest shred of hope left for you that even I can see, a way you can redeem yourself. Devote yourself to the betterment of the world and take all adversity by storm. Become strong or die,** _ **be**_ **the change you desire so.** "

"You really think I can make up for betraying you?"

" **No. Not anytime in the next decade. But there is a path you can take, it is long and winding, full of challenges and things to beat you down. If you can overcome them, I will acknowledge you again.** " The eldest Tailed Beast paused.

" **I didn't give it much heed before until you awakened the Sharingan but there is something about you. Something familiar. Now when I look at you, I see a little of Indra. You are, in ways, like him, you try to go it alone, to shoulder the burden by yourself and you shrug off people try to help unless they are family, blood or no. But if you want to be like him, or anything resembling the Sage's hope, you must conquer your demons and rise above yourself. Until you accomplish what you must, never give up. Become the Naruto I knew and trusted once more. Be like what you wish to achieve. Be like Indra.** "

Naruto was speechless for one of the few times in his two lives. Kurama, despite having cast the shadow of hatred over himself once more, was still urging him to be the change he sought.

"... Thank you Kurama. I think I get it now, what I have to do. Change isn't found by a person, they start it."

" **Hn. Sometimes, reflection of the past helps to strengthen resolve and embolden the spirit. If you have ever known something that truly moved you and gives you drive, relive it. Find yourself once more, Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze Uchiha Flame. Until then, remain silent.** " The fox prowled to the back of its cage and and settled down.

Something that moved him. Something that gave him drive. What was he fighting for? A shot at redemption? Revenge? Both were part of it but not quite there. A flash. He remembered why he had survived his Dragon Slayer training. What had kept his body moving, kept him alive.

Flashback

 _A 3 year old Naruko ran into their shared bedroom. Her face was alight with excitement._

" _Big Brother! Come play with us!"_

 _She grabbed his hand and dragged him downstairs, out the door and all the way to the park. Pulling him by the hand. They arrived and saw the other kids there. There was the Hyūgas, Neji and Hinata, Sasuke, Ino, Sakura, Choji, Shikamaru and Kiba._

" _Hey guys!" Kiba yelled, waving at the sky blue eyed blondes. "What took you?"_

" _Big Brother was hiding." Naruko pouted._

Flashback End

So childish. Had he really gone along with Naruko's attempts at having him socialise when he remembered what that led to? It seemed he had been naive enough. He had lost all of them a year later, the others abandoning him when he fell out with Naruko. He had hidden the pain from everyone, tearing his heart apart and he isolated himself except for Itachi and Shisui, the Uchiha his only company. Then came the night he first awakened the Sharingan.

Flashback

" _Danzo came for me. He's stolen my right eye and will undoubtedly come for my left soon. Itachi, I entrust you with this eye, use it to protect Sasuke and Naruto." Shisui spoke in a pained voice as he removed his sole remaining eye and offered it to Itachi._

 _A crow descended from the sky and took the eye, dispersing into a flock of black feathers. The 'Teleporter' of the Uchiha Clan stepped back, on the edge of the cliff where they had met._

" _Itachi, this will be my final gift to you. If you care for your little brother at all, don't stop me." He stepped back falling to his death in the rapids below._

" _Shisui!" Naruto screamed, reaching for his teacher's hand._

" _Naruto." Shisui smiled, empty sockets closed and crying blood. "You have to let me go. For your sake, and hers."_

 _He crashed into the foaming tides below and disappeared. Naruto's eyes glowed red, as did Itachi's. The three tomoe of Itachi's Sharingan curved inward and the pupil expanded, leaving a circle of red inside. In a flash, the Mangekyō Sharingan activated for Itachi. His pattern resembled and tri-pronged windmill shuriken. In Naruto's normally blue eyes, a single tomoe danced around the pupils._

" _Sharingan…"_

 _Naruto gasped. He hadn't thought it possible for him to awaken the Sharingan, and at such a young age._

Flashback End

That had been the night he first seen the world through the crimson eyes the Sharingan, the blood-soaked eyes of the Uchiha. His resolve had been truly tested when he met his elders, the 10 advanced Dragon Slayer students. Even now, he thought of the day Atlas brought him before the 10.

Flashback

" _ **This is your child Atlas? He looks frail and weak, much like the younger ones, he cannot be ready.**_ " _The Lightning Dragon, Kaiser rumbled. His voice crackled with electricity. Yellow volts jolted across his form now and then._

" _Such a weakling should stay with the lesser sect, not be among us who are truly strong."_

 _This was the Purgatory Dragon Slayer, the eldest and strongest of the 17 Dragon Slayers. He was 19 and radiated great power. Coal black hair of shoulder length framed his face and ash colored eyes bore into Naruto's own spirited stormy blue. This was Thanator._

" _Say that to my face, I dare you_ teme!" _He spat the Dragon Tongue word for 'bastard' like poison. No one called him weak unless they proved they were stronger._

 _Thanator advanced on the 11 year old Naruto with fury glittering in his eyes. He snorted and shoved Naruto onto his rear dismissively. "Trash should stay in the dirt where it belongs,_ boy _."_

 _The other dragons Slayers looked at him in dismay. Like they expected more. All except two. A boy and a girl of the same age, 15._

 _The boy_ _had dark skin with shocking purple hair, long and spiky with bangs either side of his face and the majority of the rest pulled back in a shoulder-blade length ponytail. Forest green eyes with big, round slitted pupils intently stared at the chakra beast, a spiky purple fringe partially covering the left eye. Tattoos of similar color drew sharp-ended lines vertically down, over his eyes, running down his eyelids and a prominent scar could be seen running from above his right eyebrow to stop a centimetre or two from his left eyelid tattoo that reached from just a fraction past his eyebrows down a little onto the top of his cheeks. He wore a cyan kimono with a vibrant purple collar and a beaded necklace with a single dragon tooth on it. This was Spine Nickelback, the Poison Dragon Slayer._

 _The girl had a simple medium length kimono, a nice rose color and hair of bright light blue that came down to her shoulder blades. Her eyes were a stunning pale white. A kind expression of curiosity coated her features. This was Catala, the Snow Dragon Slayer._

" _Fight me, I'll kick your ass jerk!" Naruto snarled, getting up. A strong blow came in the form of a foot to his stomach, sending him tumbling backwards. Atlas said only one thing to the oppressive Dragon Slayer._

" _ **Careful what you say, this boy is not your average brat. Underestimate him and it could be your last mistake, Thanator. He is more like my brother than you realise.**_ "

" _Shut up Atlas, a mouthy brat is just that, all talk!" Thanator growled. White flames gathered around his fist and he unleashed a devastating attack. "Purgatory Dragon Bomb!"_

 _The white flames licked across Naruto and he was sent flying into the ground again. A second later he was back on his feet and ready for more. He hurled a crimson fireball at his elder._

" _Hellfire Dragon Brilliant Flame!"_

 _Thanator scowled and drank up the hellfire, spitting a Roar back. He shot forward and barraged Naruto with punches, kicks, blows of all descriptions and even just plain olf slaps. The younger Dragon Slayer was batted around like a ragdoll and he fell for he ground again. But once more, he got up, only to take a white flaming fist to the face._

" _Stay down brat_!"

 _More blows. But Naruto got up again. He would not give in. Not now. He crouched and dug deeper, calling on his magic to strengthen him. Crimson flame markings spread over his body and his power took a spike._

" _Hellfire Drive!"_

" _ **An advanced state? Unthinkable, no brat can access those.**_ " _Ryuk, the Purgatory Dragon snorted. "_ _ **Atlas. Let your brat fight his own battles.**_ "

" _ **What makes you think I'm doing anything to help the boy?**_ " _Atlas Flame retorted. "_ _ **This is all him, I only taught him to unleash what he already possessed. And he will never stop surprising you, that is who my son is. A son, that is what he is to me, not a student, not a protégée or a successor, a son. Our bond goes beyond teacher and student, we are family. Now then Naruto, show them your strength!**_ "

" _Flame Lotus: Flame Dragon Fist!"_

 _A series of flaming punches were all blocked by the eldest Dragon Slayer and he snapped. Each blow was now meant to kill. Naruto desperately tried to avoid them. Left hook. Right kick. Sweep. Explosion of white fire. He rolled away from each one, barely getting out of the way in time. A roaring punch swished over his head and suddenly came down on him as he attempted to use a limbo to duck it._

' _Shit!'_

 _The punch got closer and closer, turning into a hammer action. Then the Hellfire Drive vanished and in its place, the Sharingan span into life._

 _It shifted._

 _A second tomoe appeared in each eye and then, he could see. He could see! He saw every attack before it happened. He saw a phantom image of Thanator before he actually moved, foreshadowing his upcoming attack. And in the clarity of the newly enhanced vison, the next move became… vividly clear!_

 _Then there was one he could not avoid. A massive torrent of white flames bore down on him._

 _Then a cold overtook him and he found a dripping white barrier of snow blocking the attack, melting under the heat. A pair of gentle arms were wrapped around him, the person holding him jumping out the blast radius. The flames went out and he saw the purple haired boy holding Thanator's wrist, purple and black liquid bubbling around his hand. The forest green eyes stopped the eldest dead._

" _You took it too far, Thanator."_

" _Spine is right." The female Dragon Slayer holding the Jinchuriki added. "He's just a boy. You tried to kill him just because he doesn't roll over for you. I may hate fighting, but I won't stand by and let you hurt a little boy. He is young, and it's natural he is defiant. Ryuk, teach your brute some manners of I will fill his insides with snow and let Spine test his poison variants on him while Thanator is immobile."_

" _ **You insolent drake…**_ "

" _ **Catala is not alone in that sentiment Ryuk. Yumi and I will not stand for your overbearing. Igneel made you leader of this sect, but leaders can always be replaced.**_ " _Velena the Poison Dragon growled softly, standing in front of them, the Snow Dragon and Atlas at her back._

Flashback End

In that fight, his Sharingan had advanced to the second stage, gaining the Taijutsu tomoe. And, at the same time, he gained a big brother and big sister. But that wasn't what had driven him. No, Catala had asked him that later, when he was being put through the process of having his Dragon Force forcibly activated over and over by Atlas so he could learn to induce it himself, an incomplete version at least.

Flashback **(AN: last one, I promise)**

 _His body had been run ragged by Atlas forcing his Dragon Force activation repeatedly. Right now he was curled up in Catala's arms, channelling Kurama's chakra to heal quicker. She ran her hands through his long white hair, combing it with her fingers._

" _Naruto. Whenever Atlas activates Dragon Force for you, it's painful. I see it on your face. Why do you endure it and say nothing?"_

 _He looked up at her. How his eyes could show such determination was unknown to her._

" _Because I will never go back on my word again, that's the way I live my life, like each day could be my last. I swore I would need give up, not until I can make sure_ she _is safe forever."_

" _You fight for another?"_

" _Yeah. The person I love the most…"_

Flashback End

"The person I love the most… I will never stop loving you, no matter what happens between us." His fist clenched and he saw her face in his head.

He returned to his body and got up. The full moon drew near. Just a week or two more then it would be fine. Fuu was safe asleep, Yugito too. Creating a Shadow Clone, he left the room and walked the corridors in search of a certain room. His senses depicted the room he was looking for was down the corridor to the left. He walked down the corridor and opened the door. There.

He silently stole into the room. Three people, two girls and one boy were in the room, fast asleep. He went over to the closest bed and looked down on its peaceful occupant. Her blonde hair was loose, sprawled on the pillow around her head, just like when they were young. They had shared a crib, shared a bed until they were 2 and even after that they had shared a room until they were 5. Her features were twisted by a troubled sleep. Nightmares?

A single finger, his left index, poked her forehead and he used what little he could of their psychic link to calm her. A new, comforting dream painted over her nightmare. The link had been severed 8 years ago when he isolated himself. Were the remnants of that bond really still strong enough that he could calm her unconscious mind so easily? Apparently so. He bent down and his snowy spikes cascaded down, falling either side of the sleeping blonde's now peaceful face. His twin lay there, possibly subconsciously aware of his presence because of how he calmed her. His words were whispers in the night, creeping into her sleep.

" _Naruko… do you hate me now? Do you still love me after everything I've done to you? It hurts to think, that you may be searching for me when I'm right here._ "

He allowed a sad smile onto his face.

" _But here I am, with no words to speak to you. I wish I could take you away. But that's just all it can be right now. Me, daydreaming about what can never be unless you can forgive me._ "

He moved round and sat on the edge of her bed. She was such a deep sleeper. He let his left hand touch her face, stroking her whisker marks with his knuckles, softly so not to wake her. Naruto laid his hand flat on her cheek and she moved. His twin leaned her head into his hand. He froze. But her eyes didn't open. Unconsciously then.

' _Sorry 'Ko_ ' He thought, using his toddler name for her. ' _Not yet._ _It's too soon, too soon._ '

He leant down and if she woke up, Naruko would have found herself face to face with her twin. Her headband was around her neck.

"Sleep well, Little Sister."

He moved up and kissed his sister on her forehead. He stayed there for a second, then pulled away, vanishing into the shadows and going back to his own room. Unbeknownst to him, Naruko smiled in her sleep and turned over, curling up in a ball, whispering unconsciously,

" _... Big Brother…_ "

…..

The day after the five day limit of the Second Exam was over, the remaining Genin assembled in a hall of sorts. It was a stone slab structure, with raised walkways to the sides, railings running along them, a giant statue down the end of a pair of hands grasped in the standard chakra focusing pose and a wooden slat rectangle in the wall.

They were stood in their teams, single file lines. In total, there were 8 teams; the Leaf 12, Gaara's team, Kabuto's team, the Sound ninja and Naruto and Yugito. Naruto had chosen to stand behind Yugito to hide his face somewhat. Why? _He_ was in the same room.

Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, stood before the assembly of Genins, his arms behind his back. He was wearing his Hokage coat, white with red flames licking the bottom. If anyone was to look at Naruto right now, they would only see his obscured face, his snow hair casting an impenetrable shadow over it. His face was contorted and warped by a look of absolute rage. His teeth ground together and for a brief moment, something else entirely broke through. Fiery orange engulfed his eyes, blue, white and black all gone. There was only fire. Then they reverted to his regular stormy blue with oval pupils.

Oh how he wanted to let his hellbound crimson flames blaze and scorch the man to ash. They said revenge was best served cold, like a drink they could drown in the freezing depths of. No, his revenge would be served at volcanic temperatures with a side of 'burn in hell'. But he wasn't yet ready to blow. This bomb needed time to build up enough for that. And it was one hell of a bomb. The Nine Tails was silent, taking a nap in the seal. Ten Tails remained dormant so far.

Minato began to explain the exam.

"You have all passed the Second and First Exams. Congratulations, but that was just the beginning. Allow me to explain what purpose these exams actually serve.

"The Chunin Exams are not a social event, they are a battlefield, where each nation sends their best of the newest generation to represent their strength. In short, this whole event is a war in miniature, a substitute. And that is why you must all do your best. You put your life on the line, for your village, for its reputation, for its honor and more importantly, to show your power for the respect of others. This is how peace had been maintained.

"Now then…"

A sickly looking Jonin landed before the Hokage.

"Hayate." Minato nodded. "We were wondering if you were going to show. The stage is yours."

"Thank you Lord Hokage." He turned to the Genins assembled and took a clipboard from Anko.

"Before you can move on to the Third Exam, we must conduct a series of preliminary matches. There are too many candidates so according to the rules of the Exams, a preliminary round must be held to at least half your numbers. A whole bunch of important people are attending the final event so we can't afford to waste their time or drag it out. Anyone who doesn't feel up to it can drop out now."

Kabuto immediately put his hand up.

"I'm out. The previous round wiped me out and I don't feel up to it."

"Kabuto Yakushi? Okay you can leave. Anyone else?"

Naruko's eyes flickered to the Cloud team intently. Neither were raising their hands or even had any indication of leaving. Blazing Dragon had replaced his bloodstained arm wrapping with new bandages. Hayate continued.

"Okay."

A panel of the wooden part of the wall at the end of the hall opened up, revealing a screen. "The names of the contestants will be chosen at random and displayed on this screen." The matchup generator began flashing. It raced through the names until it ended on a pair.

Sasuke Uchiha vs Yoroi Akado.

So it was one of Kabuto's team that Sasuke was up against. Naruko followed everyone up to the stands while her teammate stood across from the burly Genin with the sunglasses and face mask.

"Sasuke Uchiha vs Yoroi Akado. Are there any objection you two have?"

"I'm good."

"None here." Sasuke replied, not taking his eyes off his opponent.

"Then you may begin."

Yoroi did some hand signs and his right hand glowed with chakra. He ran at Sasuke with the intention of grabbing him and draining his chakra. Sasuke leapt away, hurling a volley of shuriken and activating his Sharingan. The two tomoe span.

' _Okay. That looked like a chakra draining jutsu by the inward pull to the chakra around his hand. He wants to absorb my chakra so I can't fight back._ ' Sasuke deducted. ' _So as a given, I can't use jutsu since I don't know how much he can absorb per second. Taijutsu will be dangerous but it's all I got since I don't know any genjutsu that will help. Actually, there is one but the moment he realises I've cast it over him, he'll dispel it. I have to be subtle, slow him down enough to get a finishing blow in._ '

A faint shadow preceding him a little in Sasuke's enhanced vison, Yoroi ran swiftly at the young Uchiha. The grabbing hand with the Absorption Jutsu active lashed out at him repeatedly but Sasuke just leaned away from each thrust, being patient. ' _I can see you Yoroi. I can see your moves a little ahead of time, barely 4 inches before you I reckon, but it's enough. And… there!_ '

An opening glared at him. And he took it without hesitation. Sasuke drove his knee into the other Leaf Genin's side hard and kicked off, leaping away. A quick volley of shuriken flew from Sasuke's hands and embedded themselves in Yoroi's back and the Uchiha struck.

His foot hammered into his opponent's jaw, a perfect copy of Lee's move. Sasuke blurred and appeared behind Yoroi in the air. Down with the Sound team, Orochimaru in disguise smirked. ' _Come on little Curse Mark, activate. I know that move was stressful, Sasuke will have no choice._ '

He was disappointed at what happened next to say the least. There wasn't even a hint of the Curse Mark on the boy. How?!

Sasuke rotated, speaking as he did.

"Okay, I kinda borrowed those two but from now on, this is all me!"

His leg arced down, colliding with the older boy's chest. Two more followed and Sasuke cried, "I'm nowhere near down with you yet!" 6. That was how many more kicks he got in before he pulled the finisher. And then, his ankle met the older ninja's chest for the last time.

"Lion's Barrage!" **(AN: canon I know but I really want to get this done and get to the Fairy Tail stuff)**

Sasuke tumbled to a stop, leaning against the wall. There was no need to confirm. He had won.

Naruko watched on from up in the stands as the matches seemed to drift by. Misumi Tsugiri vs Neji Hyūga, winner Neji. Kankuro vs Tenten. The puppet master turned all the poor girl's weapons against her. Gaara vs Dosu. The Sound guy got crushed to death in the first minute. Zaku Abumi vs Shino, dude blew his own arms off and Shino just walked away. Temari vs Ino, no contest. Ino ended up unconscious. Choji vs Shikamaru, the Akimichi forfeited before the Nara could do it. Hinata Hyūga vs Kin Tsuchi. The Sound girl got trashed by Hinata's 8 Trigrams 16 Palms. Sakura Haruno vs Yugito Nii. It went kinda well.

"You aren't too bad Pinky, but I've been a shinobi since I was 8." Yugito rushed forward in all fours, attacking like a cat. The Leaf ninja threw a trio of kunai that the Two Tails Jinchuriki just weaved around. She swept Sakura's legs from under her. She was toying with her prey. 8 seals later and Yugito was ready to roast Sakura.

"Forfeit, or I turn you into Leaf Barbeque."

Sakura ended up giving up. A fire shower was not something she entertained the idea of.

Naruko's own fight was second to last. Up on the walkway, unseen by anyone, red and black shone in Naruto's left eye. He saw the Five Element Seal on her stomach and was impressed that she could fight so well. Kiba managed to Fang Over Fang into the wall and Hayate called it a match. And then there was the last match.

"Rock Lee vs Blazing Dragon. Will the combatants please come down to the floor at this time?"

Lee jumped right over the railing into the arena, shouting, "Yes! Finally, it is my turn!"

Naruto was more graceful in his descent than the Taijutsu specialist. He took in his team's looks of concern, pride and worry all in one expression then turned around. He took a step then leapt. Naruto soared through the air, executing a slow flip and landed on one knee. His eyes were neutral, trying to mask all emotion. To be honest, fighting a person he called a comrade in a previous life troubled him a little but that passed quickly, shrugged aside by his singular hatred for _him_. The man watching this match up in the stands. The human who placed the two seals on him that had restricted him for 23 years in total. The loss of his right arm had been a high price, perhaps too high, just to be able to freely use chakra. Sadly, it wasn't so simple to get rid of the loyalty seal. In fact, he still bore it to his day. Itachi had been unable to remove the seal so had been forced to do the next best thing. He had pushed out Minato's chakra that held Naruto sway to his will and inadvertently switched the ownership of the seal to speak. Instead of having a built up, 4 layered seal that made it very difficult to resist Minato's will, even at long range like he did last time, he had the base one that swayed him partly to the ideology of Itachi himself. It was what had called him back. The sense of duty.

"I hope this will be a fight to remember Dragon!" Lee's excitable demeanour seemed to have an affect on him and got Naruto's heart racing for battle. A trait he inherited from Madara, despite his own peace-monger attitude, derived from his experience of war, and possibly enhanced by his draconic traits that seemed to make Natsu crave battle. Naruto now possessed a 'thrill' for battle. Any opponent that could give him a challenge was a big thrill for him and he enjoyed the fights.

"I hope so too. I have heard you fight well, despite your lack of chakra. In fact, as I've heard such compliments about your Taijutsu, I'll not use my own chakra. Let's fight with only our bodies, show them why hard work prevails over natural genius. I myself have experienced a lack of natural skill."

"Yosh! This will be a most youthful battle!"

"Rock Lee vs Blazing Dragon. Begin in 3…"

Lee took on his stance, legs apart, one hand behind his back, his raised hand in a 'come hither' gesture.

"... 2…"

Naruto's scales locked together as tightly as possible under the bandages, giving him the maximum density and, by extension, force behind his blows. His stormy eyes studied Lee's body language as he slipped into his the style he naturally used from birth, the Fox Fist. He chose the first form, for versatility and range of options, purely based on reacting to an opponent's style, rolling with the punches and gauging the skill level of an opponent.

"... 1."

Lee ran straight at him, black eyes full of determination. A punch flew at his head and Naruto side-stepped it, twisting about to keep his eyes on Lee. A few more swift, direct attacks that were simple to counter. The weakness of the Strong Fist style, it was far too direct. It had strength and skill but not grace. A dragon didn't just fly, it danced in the skies. Naruto smiled internally. ' _Come on, I know you can go faster than that for sure. Show me your resolve._ '

Naruto instantaneously and smoothly transitioned into his Dragon Interceptor Style, smashing the spandex-wearing Genin with a bandaged arm as he weaved around a kick to the ribs. He didn't let up, driving forwards with two more punches then a barrage of kicks to the stomach, faster than the other boy could react. He just had to push the Leaf ninja to remove the weights. Lee slammed into both walls either side as Naruto kicked Lee into the first then threw him into the second. He then punched him high into the air and Lee landed on the giant hands at the end of the hall. As the boy crouched there, Guy called out.

"Lee! Take them off!"

"But sensei, you said never to do that unless it was a…"

"This is an exception! Now go get your new rival!" Lee slid the weights off and dropped both sets. Boom! They slammed into the floor and Lee was off. Naruto was forced now to use all his speed to keep the match as a stalemate. He, seeing no other choice, shielded his torso with his arms, ducked his head down and took the hits. A kick to the back. A hard punch to the arms. Knee in the side. Double punch to the shoulders and his guard broke. Then he saw trailing bandages. Wait, trailing?! That meant…

A powerful kick connected with his chin. He flew up into the air, floating up there. Lee appeared behind him. Dancing Leaf Shadow. The loose bandages coiled around his torso then lashed tight, trapping his arms to his chest. They both fell back and began to spin as they fast approached the ground. His vision blurred then all Naruto knew was pain. The floor shattered under the impact, Lee leapt away just before and tumbled away. Naruto lay unmoving in the small crater, his open eyes blank whites. They rolled in the sockets and blue met the light of the room.

… the Lotus!

The stormy blue flashed and in a moment, the previously stormy blue slitted eyes blazed fiery orange. The rubble clattered to floor as he rose up inside the cloud of dust, a silhouette to everyone else.

"That hurt."

Naruto clicked his neck with a clearly audible 'crack' that echoed off the wall and in the ears of the other Genin. A sadistic smirk now painted Naruto's face, blood dripping from the odd few cuts and scratches from the impact. He flickered and in an instant, he was upon his adversary, delivering harsh blows. He kicked Lee in the stomach, hard, toppling him over. His hand grabbed the boy's spandex and hurled him with all its' might into the giant hands, breaking them with the sheer force of the collision.

"Come on, is that all you've got? Just a one-trick pony. One little trick and you're out?

Naruto grabbed one of the plate sized broken pieces of stone slab from his own impact and hurled it at the exhausted boy, striking him in the stomach. Another two were lifted and thrown. Both struck true. But Rock Lee forced himself to his feet.

The fiery-eyed Naruto smirked.

"It seems you want to keep dancing… but there's no strength in your step anymore."

Lee disappeared and reappeared, smiling again. He dodged all the following projectiles. He had forced open the Second Inner Gate, the Gate of Rest. Up in the stands, a certain pink haired girl was confused.

"He's smiling! Lee's running for his life but he's still smiling!" Guy did his 'Nice Guy' pose with the thumb up and sparkling teeth.

"That because it's Dragon's turn to run! The Lotus of the Leaf Village blooms twice."

"Guy, you didn't!"

"Yes I did Kakashi."

"So that boy… can access the Eight Inner Gates?"

"Yes."

"I don't even need to tell you how dangerous that is Guy! Just how many gates is Lee able to open now?"

"5."

Down in the fight, Naruto's smirk grew. 5 huh? This should be interesting.

"Come on, dance! Use your gates if you will Rock Lee! They'll just make this more entertaining!" Lee crossed his arms in front of his face and closed his eyes. Chakra burst out from his body and an immense pressure surrounded him. Lee's skin went deep red, his eyes lost their irises, even the pupils, just blank white. His face was coated in a look of focus and determination, entertaining.

"Third Gate, Gate of Life! Open!"

His arms uncrossed and the full power was unleashed. He crunched down and dug deeper. Deeper and deeper until he found the limit and broke through it, unleashing more of his body's true potential. His skin went a shade deeper and Lee's bowl-cut hair was tossed about.

"Fourth Gate, Gate of Pain! Open!"

A boom punctuated Lee taking off, his fist going right into Naruto's face. He went flying, into the wall. Except Lee hit him again, changing the direction, making Naruto fall to the floor. His blazing eyes raked the arena, searching for a sign of the powered-up Rock Lee. Nothing. He closed his eyes, they had no purpose right now but to distract him. He would rely on his other senses. Sound that vibrated in his ears, scent that was captured by his excellent nose, the air currents on his skin,his ability to sense negative emotions. Lee was feeling frustration, despite it being a very minor negative emotion, Naruto could still sense it. He was coming from… the left! Fist met bandaged scales in a clash of strength, Naruto's forearm blocking the punch.

His other four senses he was relying on now were plenty to detect Lee with difficulty, at the least he had an idea of what was coming each time. He hit the deck and Lee's leg slashed overhead, missing him by a mere inch. He crossed his arms and took the follow up head on.

Up in the stands, Minato, the bastard, was watching with curiosity. This 'Blazing Dragon' had closed his eyes. In a fight, that was practically suicide. He sniffed a lot, a cold maybe? His head was up in the air, like a tracker dog. He was definitely not like Naruko, he fought entirely differently. At the start of the fight, the boy had been fighting disciplined and competitively, now his son was savage and brutal, but somewhat refined and effective, unlike Naruko who, despite having been taught both his and Kushina's styles, chose to fight like a street brawler with katas in the mix. It was apparent to the blonde hokage that this person was the greater ninja, the greater weapon for a village. He should at least try to recruit him.

Back down in the arena, Naruto felt his biological father's gaze and stared right back, blazing orange meeting calculating blue. Slitted pupils filled with clear and unmistakable rage and contempt. Naruto was smashed by yet another powerful blow as he snarled at his watcher.

" _You're next!_ "

Lee was ready to finish the fight.

"This will be the final attack! I was saving this for Neji but he will get this glimpse at what he has to look forward to!"

The spandex-wearing Genin's foot smashed into Naruto's chin with the force of a high-yield battering ram. A barrage of kicks followed, driving Naruto higher into the air. He floated in the air then Lee appeared beside him. A fist slammed into his ribcage, blasting him toward the wall when Lee kicked him in another direction with great force. The Dragon Slayer flew in all directions, bouncing around by proxy of Lee's powerful blows. His dense bones began to give under the piling up pressure, his flesh bruised and inflamed with raging agony, punctuating every inch of his body. His thoughts all echoed one thing. ' _I can't withstand this pounding!_ '

With each blow, droplets of blood flew from cuts and pummeled skin. Head, stomach, back, torso. Blows cannoned him around, driving into his battered and beaten body like a hailstorm of kunai. Under the massive pressure and overwhelming pain, Naruto gave. He cried out in pain, his voice slicing the very air.

"Arrrrggghhh!"

The blows ceased, leaving him floating in the air, his opponent above him. The boy floating above him also cried out.

"The Fifth Gate, the Gate of Closing! Open!" A blur and Lee shoulder-rammed him down. Unimaginable pain raged in his torso and Naruto breathed blood, he falling much faster than it. His whole body jerked and he weakly noticed the bandage lashed around his waist, wrenching him up. His own blood painted his face and hair as his attacker cried,

"This is the end!"

Lee's fist and foot powered into his chest and Naruto crashed into the hard, unforgiving floor with the force of a falling meteor. BOOM! The sound resounded, like the final note of a powerful song, the final sound. Naruto's broken body lay in the massive crater, actually downed this time by the Reverse Lotus. Lee sprawled on the ground, a little ways away but still conscious barely. The proctor began to speak.

"Winner by knock-out…"

" _No!_ "

The rasping voice tore through the silence like a sword through rice paper. In the crater, a broken body forced itself to move, rolling over and grasping a piece of shattered tile like a lifeline. Naruto's bloody face was strained to the extreme with pain and physical trauma. His ribs were broken, his bones far more brittle than ever. His flesh was lacerated by the thousands of blows, blood painting the floor crimson as he dragged himself out of the crater, crawling slowly and painfully. A thick line of dark ruby red blood showed the distance he forced himself. Taking painstakingly long, Naruto dragged himself upright, cradling his torso in pain. He began to limp forwards, towards the end of the fight, towards Lee who staggered to his feet too.

"As long as… I have my fists… and my legs… I won't give up… as long as I have the drive… I can change the world… I won't let a… brat like you… stand in my way… I won't let… a filthy… _human_ stand in my way!" He grabbed Lee and brought his weak and defenceless form down on his knee, barely strong enough to perform the back-breaker manoeuvre. Naruto screamed and dropped to the ground again, writhing and clutching his knee. He forced himself up again and sent blows, equally painful for him and Lee, pounding into his body. Each attack injured him further. But the fiery-eyed Naruto didn't care. He got up again and again, weaker than before and attacked again. A clink and a kunai was in Naruto's right hand ready to stab the unconscious boy.

Crack!

A pair of blue sandaled feet drove into his shoulders, breaking the left one. Naruto screamed again and fell down. When he got up again, he saw Guy standing before the prone and close-to-dead boy.

" _Why?_ " The question was ground out between gritted teeth. " _Why save anyone other than yourself?_ "

"Because… he is my precious student. And my pride and joy." Guy turned around and his face was struck by shock. Lee was on his feet, his left arm and leg limp, his right hand in his 'come hither' gesture. Guy was only able to mourn his student's determination. "Oh Lee. Not even conscious and still you want to go on?"

This only served to enrage Naruto.

"Your steps are still too shallow!"

He snarled, his left fingers flashed into a half Tiger Seal and he Body Flickered behind Lee, the knife coming up at his spine. But it never even poked the boy. Naruto's arm was wrenched up, his head pushed down, his muscles would tear if pulled anymore. Bee had restrained him in one of the holds he used for his Octopus Hold Ink Clones. The raging eyes burned brighter and Naruto tried to struggle.

"Yo! Calm down bro! You're real mad and about to do something to make Blue Kitty sad!"

At the mention of Killer Bee's affectionate nickname for his teammate, Naruto froze up. His eyes stopped burning and returned to stormy blue, weighed by guilt and regret. He spoke with a down, quiet voice.

" _Yugito._ "

He went limp. The kunai clattered to the floor, his entire body lifeless except his eyes, still open.

"Blazing Dragon wins by interference." He didn't even care. Nor that he had won, or that the preliminary round was over. He was lifeless in Bee's grip. Then the full toll of his injuries hit and he lost consciousness too. Killer Bee felt Naruto slump and released him, catching the boy before he hit the floor, lowering him to the cold ground. Paramedics were attending Lee and tried to come over but Bee waved them away. He lifted Naruto in his muscular arms, ignoring the gaze of his biological sister, trying to see if this person who might know where her brother was would get back up. Yugito dropped down from the stands and ran over to the two.

It was clear to Killer Bee and Yugito that Naruto wouldn't be waking up anytime soon, despite his large regeneration factor that usually healed wounds overnight. He had simply been injured too much. He had made the injuries he had received worse by continuing to attack Lee. That back-breaker had been the worst one however. It looked to them like the knee had been fractured. Naruto wouldn't be recovering anytime this week, let alone tomorrow if the exams continued then.

All Naruto was able to do in his unconsciousness, was be entirely ignorant to the unknown creature inside, slowly becoming more awake. It was becoming self-aware, stirred from the depths. A cackle of laughter echoed, unheard by Kurama or Naruto. Coherent words would have been heard if there was anyone to hear them.

" _I got in! Or should I say, out!_ "

 **AN: Sorry for taking so long guys, I've been working around revision and exams and will be for the next week or so. Sorry again if this seems rushed, but several people have asked me to get this arc over with quickly so Naruto can get back to Fairy Tail and do better stuff. I see about 4 more chapters until Naruto goes back to Earthland, so please bear with it.**

 **Credits to ncpfan for** _ **greatly**_ **helpimg me put this story together and have it make some resemblance of sense. I couldn't have gotten this far without him pointing out my mistakes.**

 **Spells/jutsu:**

 **Eight Trigrams 16 Palms - Hakke Jūroku Sho**

 **Sage Art: Gracious Deity Gates - Senpō: Myōjinmon**

 **Purgatory Dragon Bomb - Rengokuryū no Bakudan**

 **Hellfire Drive - Herufaia DoRenge**

 **Hellfire Dragon Brilliant Flame - Gokaryū no Kōen**

 **Flame Lotus: Flame Dragon Fist - Guren: Enryūken**

 **Dragon Force - Doragon Fōsu**

 **Lion's Barrage - Shishi Rendan**

 **Primary Lotus - Omote Renge**

 **Reverse Lotus - Ura Renge**

 **Body Flicker - Shunshin no Jutsu**


	17. Memories of Shadows

**Stormy eyes cracked open. Pain seared each inch of his body. Naruto didn't even try to sit up. It would have been far too painful. Instead, he let out a shrill Roar, his sonic one. Agony assaulted his throat. That hurt!**

"Quit hurting yourself Naruto."

With only one option for communication, he used his Dragon Telepathy to speak inside Yugito's head.

' _Oh that hurts! Lee really did a number on me huh?_ '

"Well no sugar Sherlock! You went hand to hand with a Taijutsu master who can access the Inner Gates, why are you surprised?! If anything, you're lucky to be a Jinchuuriki, being conscious right now." She stood with hands on hips, a scolding expression on her face.

' _It was out of respect.'_

The Two Tails Jinchuriki sat on the edge of the bed he was on. "That much I gathered, you've always been damnably proud of your Taijutsu. But you have some explaining to do, that episode you had was like nothing I've ever seen before. What made you flip out like that?"

' _I'm sorry, what episode?_ '

"The one where you went full blown psycho and beat Brows around like a ragdoll after he smashed you into the floor with that Lotus of his. You referred to him as human like it was disgraceful and acted a hell of a lot like an Uchiha grandfather we all know and don't want coming back to life."

He didn't remember acting anything like Madara, nothing at all. He remembered getting driven into the ground and then… nothing. It all went black. He couldn't remember anything from being subjected to the Lotus to awakening in the hold of Killer Bee. It just was… blank. There was nothing between the two points he remembered, just nothing. Had he snapped and gone unconscious while still fighting?

' _I honestly don't remember anything like that Yugito. After the Lotus, it goes blank until Bee is restraining me._ '

Yugito's face twisted in confusion. "You really don't remember? Do the phrases 'it seems you want to keep dancing but there's no strength in your step anymore' and 'your steps are still too shallow' ring a bell? Anything?"

' _No. I can't ever remember saying those exact words. I have used the term 'dance' before but not like that._ '

"Okay, that's definitely strange. I think we need the Tailed Beasts in this one. Maybe the fox can shed some light on why you flipped."

' _Yeah, no. He's not talking to me until he thinks I redeem myself._ '

"He doesn't have to, only talk to Mata. Bee, we need you over here."

"Yo!"

The two blond Jinchuuriki put their hands in top of Naruto's and they joined their mindscapes together.

" **Hey Nine Tails, we've got a few questions for you.** " Gyūki began. Inside the darkness of the cage, crimson slitted eyes opened slowly, the rest of the Yin fox obscured in the black. The fox's voice rumbled out.

" **Eight Tails, Two Tails. It's been awhile since we met like this. 4 years is it?** "

" **Yeah.** " Matatabi nodded, the collar with chains around her neck clinking.

" **Well then, ask away. Not like we have anything better to do.** "

The Eight Tailed Ox cleared his throat and asked the million jewel question.

" **In his preliminary match, Naruto completely flipped out and went full blown rampage but we didn't sense your chakra at all. He doesn't remember anything past the Lotus until he came to being restrained by Bee. What could possibly cause this?** "

The eyes shifted, looking down at Naruto critically. Slitted crimson raked over his beaten form, calculatingly. Eventually the fox spoke.

" **If my power is not the cause of this 'episode', there is only very few possible causes, I could count them on one hand. One, the brat got so angry that he blacked out and fought without consciousness. Two, the animalistic aspect of his** _ **Dragon Slayer Magic**_ **overwhelmed him and he… switched out if you will, with an aspect of himself that is usually passive. Three, the least likely but the most logical possibility, he lost himself and traded places with his dark side.** "

" **His dark side?** " Matatabi inquired.

" **Each sentient being has one, except me because I am my own, separated from the other part, and Ten Tails which has no real or proper consciousness. But this meatbag merged with his darkness and light when he travelled through time so it can't be. He has already accepted it as a part of himself. If Naruto doesn't remember and it isn't his dark side, I theorise it is something similar. The boy has always had mental issues, PTSD, trauma, mental scarring, lacking of a self-built identity, you name it and he likely has it to some degree. The best thing to do is to wait and see if it emerges again or if it was an isolated occurrence. Let the brat shoulder it himself, it's his way.** "

" **Reminds you of someone then, Big Brother?** " The Hellcat pushed a little.

" **A ghost at absolute most as of right now Two Tails. Now begone.** " The Nine Tails closed its eyes and disappeared back into the cage.

"That went much better than I thought it would." Yugito mused, returning to the world with Killer Bee. Naruto had remained for a moment.

"Kurama…"

The great eyes opened again.

" **What?** "

"I hate to use your chakra for mundane things but since it's about time to use it this month, will you lend me a little to accelerate my recovery?"

" **If it will help you find your way again, then take what you need for now. But remember this, everything has a price and nothing is free or without consequences. Someday, you must release me as you promised or at least find a way to bring me into the physical world again. I will hold you to that promise.** "

"And I intend to keep it. Thank you."

A constant stream was drawn from Kurama as it lay in the darkness, allowing Naruto to hasten his recovery. He returned to his body.

"How long was I out?"

Fuu, who had just walked in, answered. She was still wearing the clothes he and Yugito had given her.

"About a week, 8 days. Oh and by the way, the full moon is tonight so you might wanna fix up your busted bones enough to walk unless you want company."

"You seem happy."

"Eh, got my friends back, well, except Gaara but silver lining. Why wouldn't I be happy? Oh wait you mean the incident in the forest? Whateves, the past is the past, no matter how traumatising it is. I had a week to get over it and Chomei helped so I'm good. 'pparently you've fallen out with the fluffy?"

A growl came from Naruto's stomach in response to the nickname. He sighed and sat up, already feeling his bones getting denser again. Soon enough the brittleness would be gone enough that he could walk again. He looked out the window of their hotel room at the sky. It was a soft red. It was sunset already?

"About 4 hours until midnight right?"

"Give or take." Fuu shrugged. "Now can I hug you or will that bust you up more? 'Cause I really want a hug!"

"Sage, you really are a child." Naruto face-palmed. "Hug Yugito, she's still got her ribs."

"Yay!" The mint green haired girl squealed and leapt at Yugito, latching on and rubbing her head against the other female Jinchuuriki's chest. Yugito gave Naruto a death glare. She was not amused.

Timeskip - Four Hours (or so)

Naruko sighed as she leant against the smooth bark of a leaf-filled tree in the south forest. Where was this 'snow haired dragon'? Was he late? She was fairly certain the one called 'Blazing Dragon' was this snow haired dragon but last she saw, he had been demolished by Lee in their match but still won due to interference. The wind changed direction and a few stray leaves floated by.

Then, he walked out from behind a tree across the clearing. Blazing Dragon's left arm, shoulder and knee were in casts, secured by straps and bandages wrapped many parts of his body. Medical patches were on both cheeks and one temple. His slitted eyes bore into hers, staring into her soul and stirring a completely foreign feeling in her gut. Gone were his vest and fishnet shirt and bandages were wrapped around the majority of his torso.

"Your arm and shoulder okay?" It was a casual question, used to get him to talk.

The boy with snowy hair took a quick look at his broken shoulder and answered in a tired and calm voice.

"It will heal. I should be fine by the time the finals start in three weeks or so. You appear to have gotten through the Second Exam and Preliminaries without major injuries. How was that?"

She shrugged.

"Lucky. My team ran into Orochimaru in the forest before you found us. He put me and Sasuke in those states. Honestly, I don't know how we made it. Shame Sakura lost to your teammate but I thought she would."

He smiled softly. "Yes, Yugito is rather tricky to fight with any form of success, I have tried and barely managed to hold a tie with her over the years. We've been a two person team since we graduated 4 years ago."

"Damn that's a long time. If you've been Genin for that long, what are they teaching in your Academy?"

"In Cloud, Shinobi are trained from a young age to graduate early are pushed quite hard to achieve. Those who can't keep up get kicked out and have to try again the next year. But I hardly think you came here to compare careers."

Naruto was inwardly screaming at himself with a voice loud enough to wake the Yin Nine Tails from its sleep. But the fox didn't speak to him. Instead, it connected with its Yang half, growling across the link before it could speak to Naruko.

' _ **Don't you even dare tell the girl who he is, other half! The brat has a plan and I want to see where it goes.**_ '

' _ **So the boy wishes to do**_ **that.** _**He plays a dangerous game, Yin. More dangerous than your own.**_ ' The Yang fox mentally grunted. ' _ **So what happened? I feel your animosity towards him.**_ '

' _ **He lost his spine. Now he tries to make up for it. But I think this world is too far gone and he will ultimately fail in the end, to bring true peace like Father's. It is undeniable, those times are over.**_ '

' _ **True enough. This world of humans can never be the same. Nothing good ever happens twice. So when will you tell him that you are actually…**_ '

' _ **When he overcomes enough of his own problems.**_ ' The Yin fox interrupted. ' _ **Their psychic link was by no means easy to break apart, it took both of us, her childish arrogance to put her opposite him and make her break off her end.**_ '

' _ **Yes, and the fragments are still strong enough that they can influence each other's unconscious state with a touch, it is impressive. Do you want me to suppress her end for tonight's meeting?**_ '

' _ **Yes, and I will do the same for him. This must be done, I don't like it but it is how he will test her.**_ '

Naruto turned around, hiding his face. His twin was so far unaware of his identity and he wanted to keep it that way until the last moment.

"No, you are here for something else. Ask."

Naruko shifted. Her question…

"What do you know of my twin, Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze?"

The Blazing Dragon exhaled and she suspected he had just closed his eyes.

"I have seen him, what became of him anyway. Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze died nearly 7 years ago, his remains lie buried beneath the ice in the Land of Snow. A severed arm and something else are what killed him. Before he died in front of me, he said something. He said 'Tell my little sister, reality is individual, everyone lives inside their own, and mine is a shattered world where no one loved me. I didn't die because I lost my arm and bled out. I died 2 years ago, my body just moved this long and I don't know why.' He died inside a cloak of red and black. His remains still move, the husk of an unloved child, moving without purpose."

"But… he's alive? Right? "

"That entirely depends on your definition of living. If it is that a person is alive so long as they move, then yes. But if it is that they still feel love, then he is long dead. He died of his own broken heart."

Tears started to well up.

"But…" Blazing Dragon didn't stop. He continued talking.

"Believe what you will, that _is_ part of reality after all. Before I go, I will tell you this, on a whim, nothing more, nothing less. Watch the shadows. The moonlight _always_ reveals the truth of a person, what they truly are. So watch the moonlit shadows."

She looked down at his shadow as the injured Cloud ninja walked away. And it was shocking to say the least. His shadow was of a small boy, with short spiky hair, slumped shoulders, hands up to its face, as if crying its eyes out. And it stood alone.

"Wait!"

But he was already gone.

She leapt up to the treetops, racing to the highest one to try and see him. He was nowhere in sight. Damn it!

Could he possibly be… her twin? The hair was long and white, but spiky like his, his eyes were darker, stormy, and the pupils had changed shape. This was the first time she had fully seen his face and it was about the right shape, those patches covered the whisker marks he might or might not have and his skin tone was slightly lighter, like he hadn't seen all that much daylight in a while. But that could just be his condition. But there was something that bugged her. Naruto's right arm had been severed just above the elbow, and this 'Dragon' had a wrapping that entirely covered his hand, fingers and all, going up to mid-bicep, _on his right arm_. The same arm he had used to crush, _literally_ crush a kunai into scrap metal.

If this person was _her_ Naruto, her twin, he had gotten a replacement for his arm and had been taken to Cloud. He had said Naruto died in the Land of Snow, which was on the way from the Leaf to the Cloud last time she looked at a map. Maybe Itachi had killed off the last trace of her twin there, leaving his body for Blazing Dragon to inhabit. She could no longer feel any remnant of the psychic link they had shared until they were 4 years old, like it had vanished completely, or, been suppressed by something.

But Dragon had also told her that Naruto died of a broken heart. Had he erased himself and replaced his identity with this weapon he had become? His body moved, his heart beat and he drew breath, yet it wasn't the twin she knew.

But what was to say he only just looked somewhat similar to Naruto? And that this arm was just scarred or he through it looked cool? Too many things were similar for it just to be a coincidence but he was so… so… _different_ to her twin. He did things 'on a whim', he acted entirely different, cold to almost everyone, Naruko would go as far to day he seemed angry, he felt just cold rage. Rage that had boiled over in the Prelims, he had been so ferocious, like an animal. How could her kind and reserved twin be something so bestial when pushed to the limit? It was just too confusing.

Timeskip - Next Day

Naruto groaned like nothing else could. He forced himself to roll out of his bed and stand ruggedly. He really should not of used Body Flicker 13 times in succession to get away from Naruko. Now he had given her his scent, how would she go about tracking him? Was she angry, sad, happy, or just scared? He couldn't understand her emotions anymore. Not when he was so much different than he had once been. He had been kind but now he was cold. With Atlas, part of his heart had died. The part that allowed him to show his love for family outright.

Everything he had told Naruko was true, Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze had died in the Land of Snow, of his own broken heart. Then, a mere moment after he died, his heart had beat again, but it was no longer the same boy in that broken body. Then, out of the ashes, a new Naruto had arisen. One who danced with death to test his limits and discover the depths of who he was. A creature with darker wings than ever before and never died. A lonely phoenix.

He forced himself to the door before he heard it. Fuu's voice. The voice of a person he considered a sibling, maybe even more than that. He had never known. He had possessed no will power after she and Yugito had died.

"Mornin' Naru!"

' _For the love of all that is sacred, she did_ _not just call me that!_ '

"Fuu, what did I always tell you about that nickname?" He sighed. Jinchuriki girls.

"Not to use it." Fuu smiled, wrapping her arms around his middle and burying her head in his bandaged chest. Such a goddamned child! "Why?"

As if dealing a toddler, Naruto peeled Fuu off and set her down on her feet, leaning down to talk to her. She was a full head shorter, if more. He spoke slowly and clearly, like was talking to a small child. His serious face punctuated his speech with an air of, well, seriousness.

"Fuu. When a person asks you not to do something, it is usually because they find it annoying or distracting. I do not appreciate being called 'Naru' so please refrain from doing so. Understand?"

Her cute face shifted into a childishly confused expression. "What does 'refrain from' mean?"

Naruto, for the first time in his life, well, this one he reckoned, face-faulted. He had forgotten how limited and childish Fuu and her vocabulary were. Why, just why did she have to be so annoyingly childish? Or was he just that mature?

"I forgot how little you know of adult language."

"Hey!" Fuu protested adamantly. "I know adult language! Crap! Balls! Fu…"

Naruto's hand clamped over her mouth before she finished the profanity. "No bad words squirt! You're barely 11 for Hamura's sake!"

"Mmm mmm mmm mm mmm!" Fuu's words were unrecognisable. He removed his hand from her mouth and she reiterated herself huffily "I am not a squirt!"

Now Naruto let out a small chuckle. A chuckle that turned into full-blown laughter, confusing the youngest Jinchuuriki. He laughed so hard that he nearly bust a rib, again. Fuu just raised an eyebrow and huffed haughtily, pouting. After about a minute, he recomposed himself.

"Sorry Fuu but I just can't take you at all seriously when you say that."

He smiled, something that had become rarer since Atlas' death, while ruffling her hair. Fuu swatted his hand and growled cutely, making her pout that much more amusing for Naruto. "Knock it off!"

The Dragon Slayer smirked warmly. "Don't feel like it, squirt."

"I'm not short! I'm just…" She paused.

"Funsized?"

"Hey!" Fuu was scowling now. But he shrugged it off. With one more ruffle of her mint hair, he walked out the doorway, calling back over his shoulder.

"The word you're looking for to describe yourself is 'petite' Fuu. Size isn't everything, it's what's inside the packaging that really matters, I know that best of all."

After snagging a few things for breakfast and piggybacking Fuu since she was lazy and cute, he pinpointed Killer Bee and Yugito. They were in same place Shisui had jumped to his death, blind. He made it there without his favored Body Flicker in under 15 minutes and landed next to them with the younger Jinchuuriki. They looked somewhat surprised to see him up and about.

"Shouldn't you be resting?" Yugito questioned, hands on hips. A funny spectacle with her teenage body.

He answered casually. "I'm more or less healed for better or worse. I've always been a quick healer and the fox's chakra only sped that up. I can't afford to get lax now, especially with the invasion coming up soon."

Fuu hopped off and skipped happily over to Bee, hugging him tight. Naruto used his right hand to undo the straps on his casts and loosen his bandages. His fingers coiled and tensed, his muscles tightened and the small amount of atrophy to his limbs vanished. His left hand clenched hard, balling into a fist, crushing the part of the cast around his hand. Slashing his arm up and tensing as much as he physically could at this point, the casts broke away and the bandages shredded. He brought his arms back with lightning speed and the wrappings encumbering his chest split apart too. The bandages around his head unravelled and he burnt the torn and untorn away with a quick crimson burst of magic.

The show of physical strength surprised the others. None of them had expected him to recover this quickly, or so well. The injuries he had sustained were grievous, permanently impairing to any human, and shouldn't have been possible for a mere Genin to inflict. In Naruto's experience, the only time he had ever been remotely so injured was when his strongest Secret Art destabilised and blew up while he was in it. He had suffered third degree burns from his own magic that went rampant, a fair bit of internal bleeding and a couple broken bones. Even that wasn't as bad as what Lee had inflicted upon him with his Reverse Lotus. Then Guy had broken his shoulder, which accompanied his partially fractured knee.

"How did you even take that much damage Naruto, mah bro? You supposed to be a tank, not easy to beat up or flank?" Oh heaven damn those raps.

He tried to recall. "I'm not sure, I've never been as injured as that in my life. Whatever happened to me, it seems I was way too reckless when I was out and didn't care about wounds. That and not using any magic or chakra made me limited in what I could do. I think the limits I put in myself are why I was beaten up so bad. As good as I may be in hand to hand as a Dragon Slayer, Lee is a master of a devastating Taijutsu style and testing myself against his Gates, unconscious or no, would have been suicide for anyone not a Jinchuuriki or a Dragon Slayer. I really hate my pride sometimes.

"On another note, what's the matchups for the Third Exam?"

Yugito tossed her hair out of her face and combed it back with her fingers. "First match; you against your twin, second is Kankuro vs Bug Boy, third is me vs the Hyūga girl, Fourth is Uchiha vs Gaara, the Hyūga boy gets a free pass in the first round and the last of the first set is the Nara vs Temari."

' _Naruko and me huh?_ ' Naruto looked down at the ground, staring intently at all the stones and grass. He really didn't want to fight her, not like this. He couldn't afford to have an episode like the one he had in the Preliminaries. ' _I hate having to lie to her and now I have to fight her? I need something, anything… anything that can make it all less painful… I was going to tell her anyway but now that she suspects, I can confirm her belief that I am alive. Well, this part of me. Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze died nearly 7 years ago, lying in the snow and I rose from his ashes, just Naruto, no name other than that. My own broken heart killed me before, but Atlas… he brought me back to life. With him, I was reborn… a child for once. He loved me… mended my broken heart as best he could… and taught me to love again, to live, if only to live a half-life, to love behind my own darkness. I will always love you Dad and I know you did your best to put me back together but all I can do right now is live this half-life, this cursed life, to the end._ '

He didn't raise his head. "I see. Thanks, I guess."

"You really don't want to fight her, do you?"

"Does anyone ever like tearing their heart apart just for the sake of proving their strength?"

He sounded broken for a moment. Naruto looked up and for the first moment in this time, the others saw his dark blue eyes properly. They were windows to a shattered soul, torn apart by grief, hate, self-loathing, lack of purpose and pure _death._ His stormy eyes were dark blue with oval pupils and that wasn't even the start. The worrying thing was so blatantly obvious now. There was just… pain.

Naruto's eyes were just so… dead… so… lifeless and… devoid of all sense of happiness. They were reflections of him, they moved without purpose, without life or anything but agony. He didn't live anymore, just moved. Moved to the dictatorship of his own suffering. Inside the seal, even Kurama could see just how hurt he was, how truly dead he was inside.

" **Whether he wants to bring her in or not, the brat needs her in his heart and at his side to be able to feel again. The dragon gave him the flesh of being truly alive, but he needs her, the human side, to give him the spirit and heart to love. Boy, you better finish your games and let her back in if you even want to live. That girl is your only chance to live, and you better take it Naruto.** "

…..

Naruto sat down on a rock in the middle of the rapids where Shisui had died. Too much didn't add up right now. Why had he blacked out in the middle of his fight? Why did he keep saying…

Pain blazed across his forehead again, like a shock of electrical energy. He clutched his head in his hands and fought to remain conscious while the fit ran its course. When the pain began to subside, Naruto said a single word. " _Satsuki._ "

His head burned again and his time, he saw a face. It was a young girl. She had straight black hair that went down to mid shoulder and matching dark brown. She looked somewhat like Shisui. The name he kept saying, the face he'd seen twice now, she had to be Satsuki.

He took off with a Body Flicker, going the only place he knew where. The graveyard where Shisui was buried. It took him the best of half an hour but he got there. He slowly navigated the burial ground, finding the grave he'd visited once with Itachi. The inscription was still as fresh as that day.

 _Shisui Uchiha_

 _A talented young man_

 _A loving older brother_

 _A caring heart_

 _He shall be sorely missed_

 _Survived by his younger sister Satsuki Uchiha_

There it was again. Satsuki. Naruto looked at the next grave. Sure enough, she was there.

 _Satsuki Uchiha_

 _A little ray of light in the dark_

 _A promising young girl who died before her time_

 _Kinder than words can say_

 _She shall be sorely missed_

He checked the dates. She had died on the night of the Massacre and was born a little before him. Cut down by Itachi when he cried tears of blood at having to butcher his whole family, probably. Why did he feel such a connection to her. Rain started to fall and soon he was drenched, standing before her grave. Water glistened atop the stone bed and he saw his own reflection, shimmering. Then his eyes burned. An image, a suppressed memory sprang to the surface and clouded his sight.

 _He saw the girl he assumed to be Satsuki with her own single tomoe Sharingan staring into his identical eyes. A kunai in his hand pierced her heart. Her blood seeped out, all over his hand and their eyes changed. Hers had a thin outline of a triangle, all three corners reached the edge of the iris and thinning triangular curved lines, creating half ovals resting against each side of the thin triangle. They both had the forbidden eyes. They were both crying._

 _Before she finally died, Satsuki kissed him on the cheek and whispered to him,_

" _Naruto… let my eyes… be your Eternal Light."_

 _And then she was gone._

He looked down at the reflection on the gravestone. He saw the new pattern and knew what it was. His free left hand came up to the left side of his face and through the parting between his middle finger and the one on the other side of it to his index finger, he saw three black thinning triangular lines, like the tails of tomoe, curved into the small, thin black ring around the tiny pupil stood out against the red iris. Three more quite thin, curving black lines, the same thickness throughout, were halfway between each curving triangle.

' _Mangekyō Sharingan…_ '

So that was why his eyes had burned two months ago. He had unconsciously activated his Mangekyō, not long enough to damage his eyes, but long enough to sting a fair bit. And, as he used them, he would lose his sight, unless…

It wasn't grave robbing if they had given permission, was it? Besides, it wasn't like Satsuki could feel her body anymore, she had passed on. So, Naruto reasoned, it wasn't wrong to take her eyes. Satsuki had expressly told him she wanted him to have them. So be it. He would take her body and let it rest somewhere more worthy of her. Shisui had made his peace and wanted to stay here.

He undid the bandage around his scales arm and let the scales ripple. So much better! The wounds from absorbing Orochimaru's imperfect Sage Chakra were healed and it was fully repaired. Raising his hands, Naruto performed Ox, Hare and Monkey. One Thousand Birds chirped away around his right hand. He whispered.

" _Forgive me._ "

And he drove his Chidori into the flat stone surface at the base of the headstone. The black marble crumbled easily under it and his hand pierced through, reaching a gap above him and the coffin she lay in. Pulling his hand, Naruto wrenched Chidori down and cut the slab in half. He pushed the two halves aside and dropped down into the hole. It was one of those barrel coffins and as far as his Sharingan could see, it had a preservation seal on it. The body inside would be perfectly preserved. From his pouch, he pulled a scroll and set about sealing the coffin in it.

Once done, he jumped out of the grave silently. Creating a clone, he pushed the two halves back together and used a minor Earth Jutsu to repair it with regular old stone, to keep people from noticing immediately. The Mangekyō Sharingan deactivated and he walked away, into the rain, heading for the next place he needed to visit. His old house. Hopefully the blood seals that governed the seals and barriers around the Namikaze Household still accepted his changed blood. If not, he would have to be less discreet.

He landed outside the gate and saw the blood lock. It hadn't changed. So arrogant of Minato not to. Biting his flesh thumb, Naruto smeared his blood on the lock and waited. It took longer than it used to but, for some reason he was thankful for, still unlocked for him. His Sharingan activated without a single burst of chakra to be sensed and he noticed there weren't two, but three chakras in the house. And none of them were his accursed birth father. There was his mother's, in the biggest bedroom, Naruko's in her own and a smaller, unfamiliar one in his old room. The owner was quite young, maybe 5 years old at most. One of Anbu on guard dropped down in front of him. Well, game was up.

"Halt! This is a restricted area, please identify yourself!" Boar demanded, quietly so to not wake the inhabitants of the Namikaze house. This was the only one to notice him so far. Naruto's Sharingan met his green eyes under the mask and he cast the only Genjutsu he knew how.

His eyes span and he spoke in a commanding voice. "You _will_ stand aside Anbu. I am welcome here."

Boar repeated in an emotionless and subdued voice. "I will stand aside. You are welcome here."

"Return to your post."

"Yes sir." The masked Anbu took off back to his post and Naruto continued unchallenged. If he remembered correctly, there was a key under the first step. The Dragon Slayer crouched and lifted the stone slab. There it was. He took it and stole into the house like a shadow.

' _Now then, who is that in my old room?_ '

Silent as the night, Naruto crept upstairs and to his door. It still said his name on the door. He resisted the urge to spit and settled for a scowl. The door cracked open and he slipped in. The person was under the covers. His Sharingan pulsed and he saw chakra again. This chakra signature… it was eerily similar to his own and Naruko's. More like his own than hers though.

Making sure to avoid the creaky boards he had been so familiar with, Naruto made his way to the bed. He pulled the duvet cover back a bit and his eyes met sunny hair. The blonde child turned in their sleep and he saw their face. Keeping himself from falling on his rear was all he could do when he saw her face.

The little girl was like a clone of Naruko and himself. She shared their whisker marks, albeit closer together, at the edge of her face and looked more like scores in her cheeks than lines, and their unmistakable sun blonde hair. Her hair was more or less the same spiky but slightly thinner and curled a little, like the ends of Naruko's own hair, with a fair length fringe, parted into three, bangs that went down to her middle whisker marks and a center fringe that was an inch or two shorter, going down between her eyes.

' _Kurama… you need to see this…_ '

The fox stirred again and used his eyes, speaking before it even saw. ' _ **I highly doubt… you bloody idiot.**_ '

' _Elaborate. I see basically a female version of myself and you call me an idiot._ ' He was still reeling from the shock.

' _ **By leaving at such a young age, you essentially screwed up causality and put this in motion. You leaving caused your mother to miss you so much, she had another child in the hopes of filling the hole in her heart, if she even had one, and this little girl is the result.**_ ' The Nine Tails sneered.

' _Meaning?_ '

Kurama rolled its eyes. ' _ **In short, the only reason that child was even born is because you done bollixed up the timeline. She's a version of you in a way, meant to be a replacement but she just didn't fit your shoes. Even more basically, she's a mistake, she's the 'you' that died in the snow, simply just reincarnated. From your damnable eyes, I can see that she is the exact same as your at that age. She's an exact copy of you, just female. There's only a few other physical differences. You are a Dragon Slayer, she isn't, you have Tailed Beast chakra in you, she doesn't, she has all her limbs, you don't. She's a repeat of you, a Time Remnant, if you will.**_ '

' _She's me?_ '

' _ **Yes.**_ '

A picture on this bedside table caught his eye. Or rather, the imitation of a picture that had never actually been taken. He was in it weirdly. It showed an 8 year old Naruko, Kushina holding a baby in a blanket and him, standing off a bit to the right. He picked it up and took a closer look. He too looked 8 but had blonde hair and human arms, no trace of what he had become. No, he wasn't 8 in the picture, he was nearly 6, he just looked older than he was. He'd always looked older than he was. It was something about how he schooled his face to look calm and how his eyes showed the years he'd lived. And he didn't look like he was facing the camera. No, the par of him had been taken a few weeks before he escaped. Kushina had cleverly cut him out of another picture and fused it with this one, since they left a gap where he was in the picture when they took theirs. There was writing on the frame, some at the top and some at the bottom.

 _My beautiful babies_

 _Naruto, Naruko and Tsukiko_

" _Tsukiko…_ " Naruto whispered softly, letting the name roll of his tongue. It was a pleasant word to say.

' _ **An old name. It means 'Moon Child'.**_ '

" _Moon Child…_ fitting. It suits her." The pale white light of the moon was shining through the open curtains, casting over her cute face. "She looks so adorable in the moonlight."

' _ **You and I have very different ideas of what adorable looks like. She is just cute, Two Tails as a kitten however, she was adorable.**_ ' Kurama snorted.

Tsukiko stirred. Then, slowly, her little sky-blue eyes opened. Instead of doing what a normal child would do, which would have been scream for her mother, the little blonde just said, "He'yo. Who you?"

He was tired of lying to his family. Naruto just couldn't bring himself to lie to one so innocent, so he told the truth. "I'm Naruto, Tsuki. Your big brother."

She just giggled. Giggled and snugged to his bare chest. Awkwardly, he wrapped her in a hug and let her giggle quietly. After a minute or two, she spoke childishly again, like she was 2.

"Knew 'To would come back. Me pa-tie-nt." Tsuki pronounced, proud of her accomplishment. Warming to her was like playing with fire to Naruto, second nature now. He let a small smile onto his face and ruffled her hair affectionately. A rare gesture.

"How old are you?"

Tsukiko grinned her little toothy grin and held up all but her thumb on her right hand. "4." She announced proudly. Quite the talker she was. So she was 4 years old. No matter what Kurama had said, he felt like she was the missing part of him and was _meant_ to be born, Tsuki wasn't a mistake at all.

He felt a little better now. But he couldn't stay. Tilting her little chin up, he met her inquisitive stare with Sharingan eyes. A single command. "Sleep."

And so she did. Tsukiko curled up against him and went to sleep within 5 minutes. He laid her back down under the covers and tucked her in, giving her a quick kiss on the forehead. As kisses went, a kiss on the forehead meant protection. And he would protect her. In his own way.

He reappeared on the cliff where Shisui had jumped from. Crimson flames licked his form and twisted into a small apparition of Atlas Flame that wreathed him in a beautiful shroud of heat. For the first time since his fight with Lee, Naruto's eyes blazed orange and slitted.

"Just a little longer, hatchling. I am stronger now, I feel more power than I ever have before and I will use it as well as I can."

His hair blew about in the howling wind and he stared down at the rapids. Looking up at the moon, he snarled. "A Dragon protects its own. I will not rest until I have delivered you all from this hellhole and by Ryuu if I fail, I will damn myself. This will be… my protection, Little One."

 **AN: Okay that was decent chapter IMO, feel free to disagree. Sorry it took so long, I had some exams to get done and they took the best of 2 weeks. Sorry again that it's a bit shorter than the recent ones.**

 **Now before any of you ask what Naruto's fiery eyes are about, here's a hint. They are the reason he flipped out last chapter and will be important later on.**

 **ncpfan, missed your comments my friend, been waiting for you a bit. Everyone else as well but this guy is like a plot hole machine gun, picking out stuff I missed by miles.**

 **To those who hate what I've done with the plot, if you don't like it, please, don't take your anger out on the story but, not to be rude, stop reading. I am the kind of writer who takes a leap and justifies it later, so those who like this but are confused, bear with.**

 **Spells/Jutsu:**

 **Body Flicker Jutsu - Shunshin no Jutsu**

 **Reverse Lotus - Ura Renge**

 **Drop a review, feedback really helps.**

 **** ** **Until next time.****


	18. Redeem Yourself!

Naruko shifted on the spot as Naruto walked into the arena, his white hair shaking with each step. He smelt her anxiety, heard her heart pounding in her chest, he felt her confliction and he could clearly see his twin was nervous. Was he really the cause of all that?

"The first match, Naruko Uzumaki Namikaze vs. Blazi…"

"Excuse my interruption, Proctor, but I would ask that you refer to me by my proper name if you will. Naruto Flame." He requested. Hayate nodded.

"Naruko Uzumaki Namikaze vs. Naruto Flame. Let the match begin." He jumped up to the top of the wall and the twins were left in the floor. Everyone in the crowd was leaning forwards in anticipation, none more than Minato himself.

"Are you really…" Naruko started.

"Yes Naruko. I am. My full name is Naruto Atlas Flame and… I am your older twin brother. But a certain _bastard_ up in the Kage box might know me better as the ghost of Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, reborn in my own husk."

The shock carried across the whole crowd and even to the Kage box where A was chuckling. "The brat finally let the cat out the bag. Something wrong Hokage? Looks to me like you've seen a ghost."

Naruto smiled inside. If that was Minato's reaction now, he would pay thousands to see the look on the bastard's face if he had to use his magic. Naruko seemed to assure herself somewhat and slipped into a sloppy and loose Taijutsu stance. She still looked nervous and afraid. He sank into his Dragon Interceptor stance and beckoned with his left hand of flesh. The message was clear. Come on, if you'd dare.

His younger twin rushed at him slightly hesitantly, forming the seal for Shadow Clone Jutsu. A formation of clones appeared with puffs of smoke and they launched themselves at him. Just before he engaged, Naruto looked up at the stands and saw his mother there, shock in her face and his youngest sister in her lap. He gave them both a warm smile, a similar smile appearing on both of their faces.

"Go Big Brother! Go Big Sister!"

Was the toddler's shout. The smile on Naruto's face wasn't fake in the least. He would give Naruko every chance to prove herself and a show for little Tsuki. He ran straight at the squad of clones with his smile still present. The first came right at him, two more flanking. Smart. A kunai appeared in his left hand as he deflected the shuriken from the sides with his right arm and the blade. His foot found its target in the clone's jaw and it went up in the air and dispelling as he landed back on his feet again. A punch directed at his head met his elbow and Naruto brought his other arm around to slash through the clone that threw it. It exploded in a cloud of white smoke and from it came the original of his twin, her fist cocked back. Her face looked only determined now and she wasn't showing any signs of stopping.

' _Naruko. Direct and predictable, yet ingenious. You seem so scared of me but when you fight, your mind moves at lightning speed and you don't hesitate anymore. You really have grown up without me. Now then…_ ' The fist collided with his cheek and his head jerked back with the blow. ' _Show me more!_ '

His ankle hooked one leg from under her and he threw her up in the air. 8 shuriken flew from his hands. They were all perfectly on course, heading for her. His aim had been perfected by years of hard work and determination. ' _Now show me how you deal with this._ '

In response, a clone formed beside her and Naruko transformed into a Demon Wind Shuriken. Her clone grabbed her and threw her shuriken form around the volley he had hurled at him, taking the barrage in its chest and dispelling. Another puff of smoke and Naruko was descending on him with a pair of kunai, one in each hand. He hadn't actually tried transforming into inanimate objects. Another genius idea.

' _She used the clone to not only get her out of the attack radius but in a position to attack me. You really are a genius in battle Naruko._ '

The kunai appeared in his hand again and Naruto hurled it up at her. The sudden action forced his twin to deflect it and gave him enough time to draw the tanto behind his back. Shisui's tanto. A final gift, along with the Sharingan. The short blade screeched against the kunai, sparks flying from the contact. The second blade came around and nearly nicked him in the side but he kicked Naruko away. In rushes of speed, they went back and forth, clashing blades repeatedly until they skidded away from each other. Naruto stabbed the blade into the ground to stop his involuntary travel backward while Naruko just rolled with it.

"You really have grown up, Little Sister. It takes a lot to make a challenge for me and you are quite one. Well done." The blade hit the sheath and Naruto weaved seals faster than his sister could keep up and prepare a proper counter. Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

A fireball that looked like a Stage 2 Rasengan, only the size of Naruto himself, came from his mouth and cannoned right at her. Naruko didn't particularly like using elemental jutsu but she had no choice in this case. Dragon, Tiger, Hare.

"Water Style: Raging Waves!"

A spout of water came from her mouth, extinguishing the fireball. Crisis averted for now. Then a hail of weapons came through the steam, from Naruto's pouches to his hands then thrown. ' _Crap! A blind attack!_ ' she realised. Then he came right at her and their Taijutsu battle began again. Block punch to gut, sweep with a kick. Naruto was a well oiled battle machine, honed by hard work, blood, sweat and tears. He perfectly countered her blows and struck like a dragon and a fox at the same time, using feints and disguising his kick as a right hook which nailed her in the stomach. She flew back and rolled a few times before getting up. He was superior in hand to hand. So she'd overwhelm him with numbers. He had quality, she had quantity.

A single seal and a small army of her clones surrounded Naruto. He smiled. Fun time.

"Let's do this." He declared, cracking his knuckles. Then he went ham. Kunai, shuriken, fists, kicks, knees, elbows, headbutts. He dished them out like a torrent, never stopping but instantly transitioning into the next attack. A clone tried to kick him with a roundhouse from in front but he cartwheeled and dispelled it with a kick to the jaw. Another tried to jump him behind and he backflipped, kicking it in the stomach. Two rushed from opposite sides and he ducked, letting them hit each other. Then he jumped up, a leg sweep going through the heads of 6 more clones and he used several others as springboards, hurling kunai and shuriken at several he passed.

If anything, he was enjoying the challenge presented by a mini army. The dance of dispelling clones continued until there were none left. Naruto then went through another chain of seals, seeing his twin already going through hers.

Naruko was blurring her hands trying to get the chain done before Naruto did his. Ox, Monkey, Hare, Rat, Boar, Bird, Ox, Horse, Bird, Rat, Tiger, Dog, Tiger, Snake, Ox, Ram, Snake, Boar, Ram, Rat, Yang Water, Monkey, Bird, Dragon, Bird, Ox, Horse, Ram, Tiger, Snake, Rat, Monkey, Hare, Boar, Dragon, Ram, Rat, Ox, Monkey, Bird, Yang Water, Rat, Boar, Bird. **(AN: this the official seal chain for the jutsu, not my own)**

Rat, Ox, Dog, Horse, Monkey, Boar, Tiger.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"

"Fire Style: Majestic Demolisher Flame!"

The two, Naruko and Naruto respectively, called out their jutsus and cast them. A giant flamethrower of Fire Style came from Naruto's mouth while a fountain-like stream of Water Style was spat out by his twin and formed into a massive serpent of water with glowing yellow eyes. The opposite elements rushed at each other and collided with a 'boom'. Fighting each other for dominance. Naruto was surprised.

' _Impressive, she's holding her own against my strongest Fire Style. No, she's overpowering it!_ ' His smile grew. ' _Well done Naruko, you've completely outdone yourself yet again. Well played Little Sister, well played._ '

The water serpent extinguished his Demolisher Flame and crashed down on Naruto himself. Three more clones fell from the sky and thrust their hands into the water and channeled chakra into it, forming it into a giant orb that floated off the ground with the Dragon Slayer trapped inside.

"Water Prison Jutsu!"

Naruto held his breath and did his best to endure the pressure of being entirely underwater. This was good! Naruko had trapped him in a prison under her control. A masterstroke if he did say so. There was no clear flaw in the Water Prison.

' _You really are something else. You've overpowered me, outnumbered me and now you've trapped me. You are amazing Naruko, truly. I'm so proud of you, my baby sister. Well, I guess that my new sister is the baby now._ '

Naruko was panting now. That many high rank Water Styles, despite it tying as her primary affinity alongside wind, was exhausting. The dragon had done it though. She was running on empty more or less. "Sorry Big Brother… but I win…"

"Winner…" Hayate never finished.

Suddenly the Water Prison began bubbling and its shape distorting. The water was heating up?! The clones were boiling their hands now in a stubborn attempt to hold the prison. With cracks of smoke they dispelled and the sphere blew apart. The blonde girl jumped back to avoid getting scalded and she saw. Naruto was smiling still and his face showed… was that pride? He spoke softly so the people in the stadium couldn't hear.

"You really are a great ninja in the making Naruko. To push me this far… not even Yugito can boast that. You have made this a worthy fight so I will respect you and fight you with my true power. I'm proud of you… my adorable little sister."

Steam rose from his body and the strangest thing happened. Crimson flames blasted into life around him, engulfing his body. They grew bigger and hotter, evaporating the water and twisted up into a silhouette of a dragon around his body. He had donned the Hellfire Dragon Mantle. His magic saw the day of the Leaf for the first time.

"This is my true power, and allows me to walk the path of a dragon. One who masters the same skills as dragons in order to defeat them. That is a true… Dragon Slayer!"

 **Play- Thousand Foot Krutch - The End Is Where We Begin**

"You're… a Dragon Slayer?"

Naruko couldn't process it. Her brother could slay a dragon? How could such power exist? Where has he learnt it? Just how long had he spent mastering those skills, who had he learnt from? The questions didn't stop.

"Who… what….where…" She couldn't even talk.

"This magic was a gift to me from one I consider a father. The previous Hellfire Dragon Slayer, Atlas Flame taught me this magic for several reasons, though I do not pretend to know them all. He saw himself in me and hoped I could continue his legacy and he adopted me. He cared what I did, he was concerned by what my path might lead to and what I might become but… he will always stand behind me no matter what and I am thankful. Now, show me… your strength!"

He shot at her, zigzagging with the shroud of crimson flames about him. They compressed and wreathed his knee in magic before it collided with her stomach and she doubled over, gasping sharply. A blow from the same limb followed, a snap-kick sending her tumbling in the dirt. The Flames of Hell faded away.

' _He's so fast! And that kick felt like a sledgehammer! So much pain! And all from one blow!_ ' Naruto winced. Her own chakra was gone but she would not give up. No other choice then. ' _Whether you're awake or not fox, give me your chakra!_ '

An approving snarl echoed from within her mind and a wave of chakra flooded her body and released a dancing orange shroud of the potent energy. Her hands flickered and she smeared a little blood from her lips across her palm and slapped it down on the ground, an array spreading out and cloud of smoke exploded from the contact. A battle toad, twice the height of the Raikage now carried her on its head. Summoning already?

"Gamataru, let's do this!"

" **I am glad to help.** " The toad responded by taking a massive leap. His webbed hand smashed down where Naruto had been an instant before. He had leapt aside, using the red fire to enhance his jump and now he smacked his fists together. His trademark dark red magic circle opened and magic blazed around his right foot. A high jump and he was descending on them with a foot trailing crimson flames.

"Hellfire Dragon Talon!"

Gamataru leapt up at Naruto and countered with his armored forearm, letting the spell explode. The detonation burnt his arm and charred the toad flesh. Hell hath no torture like the smell of burnt toad. The world may not have torture devices readily available in all place and at all times, okay maybe Ibiki did, but it had the foul stench of roasted summon.

' _ **Ohhh, burn!**_ _**I didn't know Dragon Slayer Restaurant served roasted summon. If I had, I'd have asked for medium rare Pakkun.**_ ' Yang Kurama enthused.

In the summon realm, said summoning dog shuddered like he was trapped in a glacier.

' _Sorry, no Pakkun on the menu, but we could possibly have a barbecued Gamabunta special soon if I have to summon him._ ' She returned the joke.

' _ **I still owe that frog a sitting on from the time he put his fat ass on my magnificent and furry head! You better summon him!**_ '

Gamataru cried out in pain and spoke fast before he reverse summoned himself back to Mount Myoboku. " **I am sorry Lady Naruko, but I am unable to continue with this injury. Please watch out, those flames don't belong in the world of humans!** "

"Seeya."

The toad summon vanished and it was just the two of them again. The ground shuddered as they moved with the speed of rockets, twin against twin. Naruko's kick slashed through the air and her brother limboed under it. She caught his swift punch between her elbow and other hand, brought her head back, gritted her teeth and dealt a solid headbutt. Their headbands smashed together and the knots tying them undid. They both clattered in the dirt and the pair continued.

Dust kicked up around them as the pair grew faster and stronger from their respective powers. Naruko's Nine Tails chakra enhanced punch smacked into her twin's bandaged palm and a shockwave of sheer pressure carved a deep crack into the ground and the wall, as if a giant blade had slashed across the ground and the wall too. His leg met her shoulder and a small crater appeared around them, the ground shattering. Naruko flipped off his chest, a kick to his chin in sync with her kicking off his torso. Now they were landing blows.

"Take this!"

Taking advantage of his temporary stunned state, Naruko drove her fist up into his ribs with all the force she could muster. His hands linked above their heads and crashed down into her back, enhanced by magic.

"Hellfire Dragon Jaw!"

The girl's hands pressed hard to the ground after a chain of even more seals in the way down. Dog, Hare, Monkey, Snake.

"Earth Style: Marsh Footing!"

Earth. Her secondary nature.

The ground under Naruto's feet turned to squelching mud and he sank up to his knees in it. Leaping away to get a run up, his sister pulled her fist back and ran straight for him. His flames raged under the mud, drying it and making it go solid. But it wasn't fast enough! ' _Crap!_ ' Volts wrapped around his left hand and Naruto thrust it into the ground, using the earth element's weakness to free himself. Rolling aside, his kick struck the back of Naruko's knee and gave, making her trip. They flew apart and he knew they both only had one shot at this, to win.

A Shadow Clone appeared by Naruko's side and ran its hands over her left, forming a chakra sphere. Naruto went through the process of punching his fists together and grasped his right wrist. From his fingers, flames roared away. The twins charged, raising their jutsu. Closer. Closer. Closer. In range!

"Rasengan!"

"Hellfire Dragon Crushing Fang!"

Light blue spiralling chakra and crimson flames clashed, sending waves of dust up around the deadlock. Neither were willing to give an inch. Through the contact, their psychic link reconnected after a long 8 years and the twins could hear each other, both knowing so too. This was their twin telepathy.

' _I'm sorry Naruko, I wish I could let you win but there's something coming. I'll explain after this is all over. Please, wait for me. I will always be proud of you!_ '

' _Big Brother… don't go! Not again! Don't leave me!_ _Don't leave Mother and Tsuki!_ '

Naruto's magic proved superior and he tore through the Rasengan and went low, his hand coming up at her gut. His flames about his fingers expanded to cover his whole hand. He clenched it in a fist and delivered a strong punch to her stomach, knocking the wind out of her, hard.

"Hellfire Dragon Blaze Fist!" He cried, a tear running down his face as he incapacitated his twin. With the impenetrable cloud of dust around them, no one could see them.

His magic faded. She could barely stay standing now, let alone walk. His left hand reached for her head, grasping the back of it. But he didn't smash her face into the ground like Naruko expected him to. Her forehead met his and she was leaning against him, held up by him. His dark eyes showed regret and love. He hated hurting her but it had to be done. He spoke with such gentleness and so quiet, only she heard it.

"I hate myself for doing this, and I am truly sorry. But this is the only way." The single tear was clear, running from one eye.

"I will not drag you into my life but I want you to know the truth. So... please… be you… and know… despite what I have said and done…. I love you more than anything and that will never change. Don't try to follow me. Be strong, Naruko. Be strong... my precious little sister. I will explain everything I can after this is all over, so just please, wait for me, just a little longer. Wait for me… one more time."

He moved his head up, rubbing it caringly against her soft blonde hair and planted a loving kiss on her forehead.

A single, straightforward jab to her neck on a pressure point disabled her but she was still awake. Naruto caught his twin and lowered her with a sad smile to the ground, looking into those once bright eyes, now dull with sadness. It hurt but he had done it.

' _Just a little longer, Little Sister, just a little longer._ ' He mentally whispered to her. He wiped his tears and stood, retrieved both of their headbands and put them in the inside pocket of her jacket. His arm swept the dust cloud aside and the audience saw the outcome of the final clash.

"Winner, Naruto Flame."

He didn't care. He felt horrible inside, he'd hurt his sister. This was a hollow victory. It was meaningless to him. He waved away the medics that came out with a stretcher for Naruko. She was his responsibility. He would hate himself for a long time now. His eyes burned fiery orange for a moment as he walked into the dark corridor with her in his arms and words spoken in a twisted and deeper version of his voice came from his mouth.

"You will suffer greatly for forcing me to do this Namikaze! I vow I shall bring you only pain and fire and you shall watch your world **burn!** "

…..

White feathers began to fall from the sky and Yugito dropped down to his level, Fuu went to shadow Kushina and his baby sister to watch over them and make sure they got to safety. The experienced ninja, Sasuke, Sakura and a few Leaf Genin, along with the Sand ninja and the Cloud shinobi released bursts of chakra to dispel the Genjutsu.

It was time.

The invasion had begun.

Naruto knew where he had to be. He had to contain Gaara since he was leaking Shukaku's chakra like mad. After that, he would simply help with the civilians. He shot off into the forest, shouting to a Shadow Clone he formed.

"Take care of Naruko but stay close! I'll take on Gaara, Yugito, with me. Bee's with the Raikage so we can't count on help from him."

The clone nodded and shot off with his twin in his arms. Naruto took a sniff at the air with his hypersensitive nose. Southwest was the way they had gone. He was swinging and jumping through the trees in moments. He and Yugito passed Temari engaging Shikamaru in a second round of fighting. Kakuro was stuck against Shino, fortunately. They wouldn't have to deal with them too.

Sasuke was running full pelt at Gaara with Chidori in his left hand. A weak chirping filled the trees. It must be him trying to his best to squeeze out a third Chidori after failing with it twice during his match. It flickered and faltered, shorting out a few inches away, leaving him wide open. Gaara smacked him aside with the sand arm and cackled.

"What the heck is with you Gaara? You gone batshit crazy while I was gone? Wait, you were always a lunatic until I came along."

Gaara launched himself at Naruto and the influence of Shukaku was clear. He had sand with blue marks forming a mini Shukaku arm, a tail of sand writhing behind him. Holy crap, it was his version of the Jinchuriki Cloak! He gone ape on Sasuke's face!

Naruto kicked him back and looked at the unconscious Sasuke next to him on the same branch.

"You're lucky I'm one damn compassionate person, you petulant brat." He told the body on the branch. Hey, he was mentally 29 or so, he could call Sasuke a brat. "That and Itachi told me I had to make sure your sorry ass made it through the exams alive. I wanted to leave you like a fish out of water, just for the kicks."

He looked up at Gaara. "And I am taking your ass down. Mr Nine needs to discipline Chubby One."

Shukakued, was that even a word, Gaara roared and came back at him. Naruto blasted him back with a packed Wind Style: Great Breakthrough. Sigh. Hand signs. And people wondered why he preferred his magic. It didn't need to do as much crap to execute just one move. All he had to was smack his fists together to focus and ignite whatever part of his body was involved. Simple. If it was breath attack, he only needed to funnel his hands to focus it more.

And so he did. His feet spaced out, his fists collided, the magic circle opened. The ghostly image of a flaming skeletal dragon overlapping him in Gaara's vision. He leaned back and brought his hands to his mouth as a funnel. Red flames filled his lungs and inflated his cheeks to a massive degree.

' _Hellfire Dragon… Roar!_ '

His magic was expelled and turned the flying sand shurikens to glass. Naruto raised his scale arm and let the shurikens that would have struck him shatter against it, closing his eyes to keep out stray glass shards. Shukaku Gaara brought his sand arm and regular arms together and sand poured from the air, forming a Demon Wind Shuriken sized halo. He hurled it.

"Die!"

That disk was as sharp as a battle-forged katana, if not more so. It would likely cause major injury if it connected and he couldn't block with his right arm, the sand would get in between the scales and it would both lock them up and give Gaara the chance to immobilise it. Could he block? No. Maybe he could superheat it again? Well, YOLO!

"The flames of my right hand…" Fire blazed around his scaled limb. "... and the flames of my left…" His other hand roared with more magic. "... Put them together and you get…"

His flaming hands clasped together and the magic merged and began to expand. A large ball of flames was gripped in his hands. He swung it and let the bomb-like spell fly.

"Hellfire Dragon Brilliant Flame!"

The orb collided with the spinning ring of sand and chemistry 101 happened. The roaring flames superheated the sand, crystallising it in a loud explosion. Now there was a spinning disk of glass flying at him, off course from the detonation. Yugito used her feline reflexes, caught it by the open ring in the middle, rotated, spun with its momentum, and released it. The halo soared back at Gaara. The red haired Jinchuriki raised his tail and sand arm to block.

Shing!

The makeshift shuriken cut through the sand and slashed open his shoulder, disabling that arm. Blood fell to the forest floor, a single drop hitting the ground and scattered like a raindrop. Gaara screamed and more of Shukaku's chakra surged to the surface.

"My blood! I will destroy you both!"

Naruto routed his magic to his body and underwent a transformation. Stark red flame patterns appeared on his skin and his draconic traits became more pronounced. His nails sharpened, his canines got longer, his hair was wilder and his slit pupils were like cuts in a storm of dark blue. He had used an advanced state.

"Hellfire Drive."

Magic licked his form as Naruto ignited the Hellfire Dragon Mantle. Yugito extended her nails into long, needle sharp blade and the battle of the three Jinchuuriki began with vigor.

Naruto punched his fists together once again and ignited his fist jumping at his redhead friend. He jumped off the surges of sand came down from above, flames roaring. Blaze Fist impacted a shield of sand that came from the gourd and Yugito slid under it, slashing at Gaara. The master of sand blocked the razor strikes with his sand arm and unleashed a storm of sand.

"Sand Hail!"

"Oh crap!" Yugito cursed and raised her arms to defend her body against the point blank assault. The barrage kept pushing her back up in the air until she was a fair bit away. Her arms bled with puncture wounds and her entire body was scratched and scored with red lines. While Gaara didn't yet have control enough to use the sand now in her body to paralyse her, getting much more in her cuts would allow him to at least do some damage. Naruto noticed this and knew he had to stop holding back.

He slashed with a Talon and a slightly unstable Wing Attack lashed across Gaara's shield of sand, crystallising it. The glass shattered under the following flying kick from Yugito and she grabbed his wrist, hurling him into the sand as his Roar erupted again and blew it away. His left hand reached for Gaara's, to restore his memories and end the battle fast. Sand coiled around his hand and trapped it, preventing touch. It began to crush the hand and smashed him around, into trees and various branches and its controller cackled manically.

' _ **Yep, this one's batshit crazy kitten, he isn't gonna be easy to take out.**_ ' The Two Tailed Hell Cat murmured to her host in her usual gentle voice. ' _ **Use my chakra then you'll be able to keep up.**_ '

' _Thanks._ ' Yugito thought as the potent chakra was expelled from her body in a one tailed Version 1 cloak. It was the present limit to her proficiency with keeping control of the Tailed Beast chakra without losing it. Her hair unraveled from the ponytail and was sent upwards by the bubbling cloak. It was so potent, she could go toe to toe with Naruto in his Drive state.

"Mouse Hairball!"

The blue and black mouse of fire soared through the air and split apart, becoming a series of fireballs. She had successfully recreated her jutsu from the last timeline in accordance with her memories. Yugito was still working on the other ones but this was always one of her favourites. Again, the sand shield blocked. So frustrating!

"Here it comes! Flame Lotus: Detonating Hell Edge!"

The Secret Art spiralled from Naruto's hands and drilled into the shield, crystallising then melting the sand as it went. Crack! The glass shattered and the flames were upon Gaara. He screamed and was blasted back despite all attempts to stay firm. When he emerged, burns covered his bare skin and his clothes were smouldering. The outermost layers of his sand cloak had been turned to glass and Naruto was panting now, the strain of Secret Arts still great on him. Gaara disappeared into a rising mountain of sand.

' _Well shi…_ '

Shukaku stood in all his glory and screamed to the world.

" **I'M BACK BABY!** "

But Naruto would not be intimidated.

' _Thank you, Father, Velena, Yumi, Spine, Catala._ '

His magic increased threefold as Naruto unleashed it for the first time in the light of day. He crouched and dug, literally dug, his hands into the branch as the concentration of magic built even higher. His skin on his left arm molded into skin colored but still visible scales, armoring the backs of his hands and his forearms. More scales formed around his eyes, making him look almost darker and more violent. His oval pupils sharpened into slits. His canines sharpened more and his nails grew until they were longer and sharp, like claws on a dragon's scaled hand. Crimson flames raged about him but weren't dancing anymore, but firing like a rocket around his form. On the outside, all Gaara, Yugito, Naruko and Sakura saw of him was a silhouette of his form. His upper clothes shredded and burnt to nothing as he seemed to slump over a bit his arms hanging loosely between his spaced legs. His eyes glowed yellow within the storm of pure crimson hellfire. His voice was deeper and harsher, no longer purely human but snarling in a way. Two ominous words expressed his state.

"Dragon Force!"

This was the power Atlas Flame had expended his fleeting life-force to force the activation of. The power his best friends and fellow Dragon Slayers had helped him learn to use and independently activate of his own volition with the last of Atlas' power inside him from when he consumed his Dragon Slayer father. He didn't yet have the True Dragon Force like those 10 but he could borrow an incomplete version with Atlas' remaining heavily concentrated and condensed power. He hadn't seen Spine Nickelback or Catala Snow since the day he had woken up and Atlas had died, nor Velena the Poison Dragon or Yumi the Snow Dragon. The true form of the Dragon Slayer, their sleeping power, albeit incomplete as of yet.

A tear ran down Naruto's face but evaporated once it left his face.

' _Thank you Atlas, no, Father, for this gift to me. I will make you proud. I am your son and I will not disgrace your name._ '

"Don't blink." Was all he growled. Then he was gone.

His knee collided with the hulking form of Shukaku's sandy fist bearing down on him. The sheer force cancelled out the Tailed Beast's blow with pure velocity and that alone.

" **WHAT THE HELL?! HOW CAN A FILTHY HUMAN STOP MY AWESOME MIGHT?!** "

"It's simple Shukaku. I'm not human anymore. I. AM. A DRAGON. SLAYER."

The Dragon Slayer blasted off the branch with crimson Flames of Hell and up into the blue sky. Yugito ran like a cat on all fours, zigzagging around bullets of air the beast fired. The raging Mantle burnt up all the wind based attacks before they hit him and Naruto drew the main force of the flames into his hands. Shukaku planted his hands on the ground and a mountain of sand surged up to meet his descent. Naruto drove on with his left fist, burning his path through the sand.

" **DIIIIIIEEEE!** "

The sand spirit screamed, sending even more sand up. But in his lust to kill Naruto, he neglected to notice Yugito until she was clawing her way up his back. The feline girl raced up his back, tracing what should be his spine, now had to dodge whips of sand on her way up. Then she stopped dead but not by her own choice. She was slowly sinking into the body of the One Tail. She was down to her waist already and her arms were stuck. Naruto broke off and blasted around, his barely controllable flight sending him right on course for once. He landed next to the blonde and wrapped his arms around her and blasted away again.

Yugito had found it scary that he was grabbing her while his body was still engulfed in flames but strangely, they didn't hurt her. No, they only felt warm, like his arms. That was the secret and greatest power of Hellfire Dragon Slayer Magic, it came from his heart so could not hurt anyone he loved. But she didn't know this of course. Her Jinchuriki cloak dissipated and he set her down with Sakura, Sasuke and Naruko.

"Stay here and stay safe, this is about to get ugly."

"You think I can't handle ugly?" The blonde girl demanded, hands on hips. "I had that!"

"Except for the part where you didn't." He joked.

"Just get going."

Naruto flew back at the youngest Tailed Beast and released a Roar that made Fire Style look like Atsuko in comparison to Yugito, a massive height difference because, hey, the Earth Dragon Slayer was only three. Shukaku screamed something very profane at him.

Every time Shukaku tried to drown him in sand, Naruto would turn it to glass and melt it down but every time he tried to get to Gaara, a giant cloud of sand would interfere. This could go on forever. He crystallised another tsunami of sand and he felt the Dragon Force begin to wane. Damn, he couldn't borrow this incomplete version of Atlas' Dragon Force much longer. At present, his time limit for it was 10 minutes and it had already been 9. He had no tricks left, except…

It was now or never. He had only performed this attack correctly once and that was with Atlas, Spine and Velena, the Poison Dragon, supervising and he didn't have them here. Add to that, he couldn't even use Sharingan in combination with Drive yet to better control it, he couldn't yet use much chakra at the same time as magic. A massive magic circle of dark red opened under his feet, spreading wide.

"This is the ultimate attack of my Hellfire Dragon Slayer Magic and, my trump card. None have witnessed it and are around to talk about it, be honoured little sister."

She was the only conscious Leaf shinobi around now, Sakura had fainted when he unleashed Dragon Force. To be honest, he didn't mind her seeing it.

"This is it! Rage!"

His flame aura blasted outwards, fueled by his remaining strength. It grew each second, until it was a full inferno. He spoke.

"Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Hidden Fire Form…"

He jumped and soared right at Shukaku, surrounded in howling hellfire. It twisted and reformed into something legendary around Naruto, him in its mouth, his fist cocked back. It had a long tail, grand wings and a powerfully built body. Its claws were spears, its teeth swords. The wings were a firestorm, its breath, hell on earth and it bore an incredible resemblance to Atlas Flame.

"... FLAME LOTUS: SPIRALLING DRAGON!"

The dragon visage was an avatar of flames and defoliation. With a dragon's roar, the spell collided with Shukaku head on. All anyone knew after that was an explosion to rival what the Tailed Beasts were capable of. When it subsided, Naruko and Yugito were jaw dropped at the result. Not what it had done to Shukaku but the forest. About half the lush forest of the Leaf Village was burned to ash and smoke. The cinders floated in the sky, still burning. Naruto had taken a place of beauty and with his, Gaara and Shukaku's combined destructive natures, had turned it into a desolate crater. Such power did not belong to humanity for good reason. Little did they know, Naruto's Spiralling Dragon was still incomplete, he had yet to make it spiral like a drill and compress at the moment before impact to increase its speed, impact and overall strength.

Naruto was on his knees, atop the sand field that had drowned the forest courtesy of Shukaku, who was howling in pain. His attack had blown off one massive arm and left the stump crystallised. Naruto was without strength now. Dragon Force was gone. Black blood dripped from his lips, staining the ground on which he now stood. Gaara was wide open. Naruto tried to stagger to the head of the creature but his feet were stuck. The beast had turned his footing to quicksand.

" **DIE HUMAN!** "

He sunk deeper, all the way down to his torso now. Then, the Nine Tails spoke.

' _ **Is that it? Is that the extent of your power? Pathetic. You can't even beat the One Tail Jinchuuriki. Father was a fool to entrust you with the future. You will die here you idiot.**_ '

' _I'm not done yet. I'll win, somehow. I will never give up, and I'll never go back on my word! Because… that's the way I can go on living! I will defend all I hold dear, and I will never fall to someone who can't see past their own desire!_ '

' _ **Then show me. Show me your strength yet again, let me feel your resolve once more. I'm not like the other Tailed Beasts, it take time to earn my acknowledgement again, even more to earn my respect once more, and longer still to earn back my trust. If you truly ever want to help me, help us, to do something for us Tailed Beasts… show me what you can do in this desperate situation!**_ '

He had sunk completely now, unable to hear the screams of Naruko and Yugito. A smile graced his lips.

' _Kurama… I haven't asked this in a long time, but please… lend me your strength!_ '

' _ **If it wasn't for me, you would have lost long ago boy!**_ ' Unseen by him, the fox smirked in the seal. ' _ **Go! Redeem yourself!**_ ' It could begin to believe in Naruto again.

The powerful chakra surged into his beaten and battered form and he managed to break free of his early grave, tumbling a long way to the other side of his self-made clearing. The Tailed Beast's chakra sped up his heartbeat, tore away his ninja sandals and reduced them to shreds, sharpened his senses and he could feel it surging through his body. It was so strong, pulsating through him. It electrified each and every one of his cells, making him… _more_. He wasn't just him anymore, he was something greater. He was a Jinchuuriki!

Kurama's voice resonated through his head, spurring him on, making Naruto's body move.

' _ **Now… Abandon your fear. Look forward. Move forward and never stop. You'll age if you pull back. You'll die if you hesitate. Your life will mean nothing if you give up.**_ '

Shukaku raised his tail above his head and Naruto realised what he was doing.

' _Shit! He's gone all out!_ '

A Tailed Beast Bomb was forming over the sand spirit's head. It grew bigger and bigger until it was visible across the entire invasion. Even Kushina saw it from the safehouse. An attack that size would destroy the majority of the village. And if what the Anbu said was true, both of her children were right next to the source. At least the One Tail was not among those who could supercharge a Tailed Beast Bomb.

' _Uh, please tell me there's a way to stop that._ '

' _ **Yes there is fleshbag, but you're going to hate it.**_ ' Kurama grimaced, even it didn't enjoy countering those back in the day.

The massive bomb fired. The aftermath was ugly to all hell. It was better than letting it blow up but Naruto was going to be feeling that for a month. Only a few words came from him inside his mind as he lay on the ground, severely overloaded. Chakra burns covered his body.

' _... Fuck you fox… fuck… you…_ '

' _ **How you pull half the shit you do, I will never know but that was the single, most stupid thing you could do! I meant you could let me take over at full power and blow it up into the sky, not try and somehow succeed in absorbing chakra of that amount and density**_ **WITH YOUR BLOODY TEN TAILS ARM YOU RETARDED LITTLE BUFFOON!** '

' _Volume, you banshee of a fox… I just got my hearing back from the ringing of absorbing that thing and I rather want to keep it that way. And you were taking too long to explain._ '

Naruto forced himself up with even more difficulty than he did in the Prelims and started limping over to Shukaku. He stumbled, almost tripped but broke into ragged running, the shroud of chakra dispelling the minor whips of sand. He reached the head but by then Shukaku had regained sense and trapped him in cocoon of sand from the torso down, only his left arm was free. Naruto was right next to Gaara now, within arm's reach.

"I am one hundred and ten percent done with your bullshit Shukaku! Wake the hell up! Gaara!"

No response.

"Oh screw this!" He pulled all the remaining amounts of the fox's chakra into his hand and drew it back. "TAILED BEAST…"

A loud crack like the sound of a whip echoed across the barren land.

"... BITCH SLAP!"

He had slapped Gaara. Slapped him so hard, he woke up and dispelled the Play Possum Jutsu. Memories flooded the other boy's mind as they fell to earth, Shukaku dissolving into a massive pile of sand. But the beast didn't go quietly.

" **AW COME ON! I JUST GOT HERE!** "

The exhausted pair landed on the sand, side by side. By some strange coincidence and with a feeling of deja vu, they were grasping hands.

"Did you really have to slap me, Naruto?"

"I did. I really did. Isn't this familiar?"

"Which part? Both exhausted or this position?"

"Bit of both. I'ma take a nap now, tired from using Dragon Force, not to mention those Secret Arts. Or that backlash of using that state." He spat black blood out of the side of his mouth again.

"Sleep well."

"Oh shut up!"

Naruto closed his eyes. He heard the fox.

' _ **Oi, fleshie!**_ '

' _You what mate? Fight me bruh!_ '

' _ **Nah, effort. If you don't want to hear what I've got to say, I'm gonna take a nap.**_ '

' _You lazy son of the Six Paths!_ '

' _ **Bitch please, I'm the Nine Tails, your argument is invalid. And for your information, I'm a lazy**_ **daughter** _ **of the Six Paths if you want to be gender specific.**_ '

' _Whowiththewhatnow?!_ '

' _ **Are you mentally deaf, I said I'm a girl.**_ '

"You're a WHAT?!"

 **Spells/jutsu:**

 **Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu - Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu**

 **Water Style: Raging Waves - Suiton: Mizurappa**

 **Shadow Clone Jutsu - Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**

 **Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu - Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu**

 **Fire Style: Majestic Demolisher Flame - Katon: Gōka Messhitsu**

 **Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu - Suiton: Suirō no Jutsu**

 **Earth Style: Marsh Footing - Doton: Māshufūchingu**

 **Hellfire Dragon Mantle - Gokaryū no Manto**

 **Hellfire Dragon Talon - Gokaryū no Kagizume**

 **Hellfire Dragon Crushing Fang - Gokaryū no Saiga**

 **Hellfire Dragon Blaze Fist - Gokaryū no Honoken**

 **Hellfire Dragon Roar - Gokaryū no Hōkō**

 **Sand Hail - Suna Arare**

 **Hellfire Dragon Brilliant Flame - Gokaryū no Kōen**

 **Hellfire Drive - Herufaia Doraibu**

 **Dragon Force - Doragon Fōsu**

 **Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Hidden Fire Firm: Flame Lotus: Spiralling Dragon - Metsuryū Ōgi: Shiranui Gata: Guren: Supairura Doragon**


	19. Yin and Yang

Honestly, the Yin Nine Tails didn't know why she just did what she did. Why in the nine levels of hell did she just tell Naruto that she was a female? His reaction had shown he wasn't ready to know that, or that she hadn't been subtle enough. Now he was sitting opposite her in the seal, engaging her in a heated stare down. Neither of them were blinking at all. Dark blue and deep crimson slitted eyes clashed. Naruto broke the silence.

"You know Kurama, I always thought you were sneaky but to drop a bomb like that from out of nowhere is just… no." She had the decency to look away, her container was somehow managing to scold her and sound perfectly serious. Just like Indra used to.

" **What's your point?** " She replied a little snappily. " **I don't see why you're making such a fuss over it.** "

He snapped right back. "You think maybe I'd appreciate knowing that a female fox who I thought to be male living inside my body kept something so big from me?! Sage, you girls drive me crazy!"

" **Not much of a push really needed for that one.** " She growled testily. " **With your mood swing episode a while back.** "

"Me having mood swings?! Take a look at yourself! Must be that time of the month for you!" Truly, that was the worst thing he could of said while sitting inside the cage. A part of him burned it into his mind never to say that to a girl again. Why? The gargantuan fox smashed her forepaw down on him. Hard. Now try taking that without a headache. To make it worse, she flicked him out of the cage with a finger.

" **Do I have to beat manners into you brat?! Even Ashura was more courteous than you with your insensitive blundering Indra!** " Naruto noted the slip Kurama made when she called him by the name of Hagoromo's son. " **Now walk that off!** "

An ominous sound echoed throughout the scape. One they both knew very well. It reverberated off the walls of the sewer-like cave of his mind and rippled through the water, it turned everything black except the cages and the being in Naruto's mind. The Dragon Slayer finished his first Tailed Beast's sentence.

" **No…** "

"... Ten Tails… has awakened…"

Inside the massive red torii cage off to the right, it stirred. Slowly, the gargantuan red ringed eye with nine tomoe cracked open for the first time in 4 years. It bore down on the pair.

"Shit!"

A cataclysmic screech all but deafened them. The sound of the end of the world, if it should ever break out.

" **Looks like you were right brat.** " Kurama growled fearfully. " **The combination of One Tail, Two Tails' and my own chakra was enough to make that** _ **thing**_ **wake up. You really should've thought of that at the time, but I'm to blame too, I didn't reinforce the Sixteen Trigrams Divine Seal before I gave you the initial release state. We're in the same boat for now, since your mental state is deteriorating you won't be able to handle Mother alone and I'd rather not find out if you can survive with just me in your body the hard way.** "

The one thing Naruto feared more than the rejection of his family, was the Ten Tails, the one thing even the Sage of Six Paths knew could never be allowed to run rampant. Kurama brought him back into reality and shoved him back into his body, snarling at him,

' _ **Use as much of my chakra as you need, I can hold this thing with 7 of my own Tails since my seal is ragged from all these years of you using my chakra but remember, you can only borrow the equivalent to Mata's total chakra from me without compromising the Sixteen Trigrams. And the one time you tried to use its chakra did not end well. And for the record, my name is no longer Kurama. I am Kurami.**_ '

His eyes snapped open. Dull red replaced stormy blue. The eyes of the Nine Tails, the eyes of Kurami. Naruto forced his way to his feet, feeling the Yin Fox's chakra surging through him, beginning to heal his wounds. Yang was preferred when healing but he didn't have the Yang fox. Sasuke was awake and running with Naruko and Yugito towards him and Gaara. They reached him.

"Brother! Are you okay?"

His slitted red eyes met her sky blue, and then they shifted. Both Leaf Genin gasped when they saw… Naruto's Mangekyō Sharingan. It glared into Naruko's soul and he intoned ferally,

"Sleep!"

She collapsed, robbed of all strength. It seemed she was undergoing the backlash of using up all her chakra and losing grasp on her fox's. Two signless Shadow Clones appeared by his side. One caught her and Sasuke grabbed his arm.

"What are you doing?"

The Mangekyō turned on the 'last' Uchiha and pulsed with the enhanced Genjutsu once more. But only to be dispelled by Sasuke's own Mangekyō. Triangle spiral met three intersecting ellipses. They contested for a moment.

"Looks like both Itachi and I both greatly underestimated you, Sasuke. You've risen above your murderous quest of vengeance by experiencing the pain he and I felt that night. This will be interesting to see you go on." He smirked. Sasuke reiterated himself.

"I'll say it one last time, what are you doing?" Sasuke demanded.

Naruto turned his back and started to walk away. "Something I regret not doing nearly 7 years ago. I'm taking her away from this hellhole and somewhere she can be safe from our _father_. I've had the Mangekyō since the night I escaped, if you try to stop me, we'll just have to see who can control their visual prowess better."

Sasuke smirked too. "I'd win. You haven't had the proper training to master the Sharingan, I have. I learnt from the notes of my mother and her experience with it _and_ , I have an actual Mangekyō technique."

Naruto stopped. "Oh?" His head turned to the right so he could see Sasuke. "Which one would that be?"

"The unstoppable black flames of heaven, Inferno Style: Amaterasu."

"Funny." Naruto's left eye seemed to react to the mention of the pinnacle of Fire Nature manipulation, throbbing a little more than usual for the MS. "That won't work on me for a few reasons. One, no fire can kill me, two I know all about Amaterasu, and three, I can absorb chakra of any chakra nature, thus nullifying all common Ninjutsu. There are about… 4 people I know who can use jutsu I can't absorb, maybe even 10 at most. And as to not having formal training with the Sharingan, I am learning from the Nine Tails who perfectly memorised how my grandfather Madara Uchiha used it making that claim of yours is null and void. So what's it gonna be, will you stand aside or be beaten down?"

Sasuke looked calculatingly at him for several minutes, ignoring his own shock at the revelation that Madara was Naruto's grandfather, Sharingan eyes looking for any hint of a lie or bluff. "Neither. I'm coming with you but on one condition."

"And that is?"

"That you bring Hinata too, she's Naruko's best friend and is basically an outcast of her clan in all but name. Something Itachi once told me you were too." Sasuke really knew how to press his buttons and he barely knew him. ' _Kurami? You opinion as a millennia old spirit?_ '

The fox answered instantly. ' _ **Go for it. Let's face it, you need friends, real friends who can understand you on a personal level. Besides, imagine the look on the bastard's face when he finds out you took the heirs of not only his own clan, but the two most prominent clans in the village, one being the last of his. The Uchiha isn't half bad as they go, like his mother and brother. Take them and leg it! I'm getting cranky in here!**_ '

He conceded. "Fine. You get the Hyūga, Yugito, if you could grab Bee and Fuu and meet me on the border to Snow, I'll be there." Yugito nodded and shot off to grab the mentioned three with Sasuke tailing her closely. Naruto delved into his past life memories of the invasion, searching for one single detail. ' _Where did Mother go when Orochimaru attacked?_ '

He saw.

A safe house, the same one Minato had taken him, Naruko and Kushina to when Obito caused Kurama's rampage nearly 14 years ago. She was there then, and she would be there now. He took off, not caring how he got there. There was a time and a place for being subtle, neither met the requirements of his present situation. He soared across the battles, leaping from tree to tree in a flash, flying at lightning speeds across the ground he had to cover.

Naruto saw the roof of the small building when he rocketed up into the air with a massive leap. Angling his body, he fell through the sky. His feet hit first and the roof gave under his weight, buckling and allowing for him to land hard on one knee, dust around him. Kushina pulled a kunai but faltered the moment she saw his white hair and whisker marks. He met her gaze as his second clone dropped down into the room.

"Naruto…" Kushina started. He didn't let her continue. Red and black eyes paralysed his redhead mother and she stared mournfully into his Mangekyō Sharingan, unable to look away from the forbidden eyes.

"I don't want to hear it now. Sleep!"

His clone caught Kushina. Her eyes closed slowly while the Genjutsu took hold.

"Sorry, but this'll make sense eventually."

The moment she fell asleep, Naruto reverted back to the basic Sharingan to preserve his sight. It hadn't been any noticeable difference yet but he knew if he wasn't careful, he'd burn through his limited light faster than he could blink. Tsukiko ran into the room. Before she could say anything, he cast a more powerful version of the Genjutsu he had used on her during the month break to put her to sleep. He personally caught her and left with his clones, tucking her spiky hair out of her face, smiling sadly down at it.

' _Sorry Little One, this is necessary._ '

Naruto and his clones rocketed out of the safehouse, using his custom spell, Hellfire Dragon Comet. A kunai silhouette forced his Sharingan eyes to widen. But not just any kunai. It was tri-pronged and on the handle was a formula. Minato appeared a second after his prediction self. From inside Naruto's mind a voice, dragon-like, like a cross of his own and Atlas' bellowed and wrenched control of his body for a moment, his eyes burning fiery orange for that instant.

' _ **MOVE!**_ '

His foot came up and blasted with a massive burst of hellfire, sending him flying away from the slashing blade. Then he regained control of his body fully.

' _Kurami, something just took control of my body!_ '

The female fox answered. ' _ **Something? If you just moved against your own volition… then whatever made you black out has come back.**_ '

' _ **Yes, I have returned, Tailed Beast.**_ ' The new voice spoke menacingly. ' _ **And you cannot shut me out, not matter how hard you try.**_ '

' _But I can!_ ' Yet another voice, human this time. Minato threw another kunai and, taking Tsukiko in his left arm, the new presence threw a well-aimed shuriken to deflect it. One handed seals flickered.

"Wind Style: Gale Palm!"

Yugito jumped up to meet him. Carefully, he threw Tsuki to her and shouted over his freefall, "I'll hold him, get them to Cloud!"

"But…"

"There's no time! Go!" He roared, interrupting her protest. Yugito understood. He couldn't lose them, not again. She ran on, with his clones behind her. Naruto turned, planting himself in wreckage of a building of the Leaf. Sure enough, Minato landed in front of him. His face showed massive rage and Naruto could _taste_ his hate in the air, not even needing to use Emotion Sensing. A tri-pronged kunai was gripped so tight, the Hokage's knuckles were going white.

"How does it feel you goddamn bastard, to have what you thought you controlled ripped away?!" A dark smirk played across Naruto's face when he saw the veins bulging and the tick marks across his biological father's face and hands. His darker side was something of the Devil himself and now it began to emerge, a twisted pleasure ripping through Naruto as he bathed in the pure anger.

"I can feel all that anger of yours, _Father_ , I can smell it, I taste it in this air, I hear it in your blood, engulfing every cell of you, I can see it on your face. And you know something? It makes me happy! You tried to control me, took away my free will and even stopped me from using chakra unless it was as you saw fit. I wasn't even a day old when you tried to make me a weapon and enslaved me. Oh yes, I know. I know because I remember it so clearly, even the Nine Tails knows what you did. She wasn't very pleased either. So displeased in fact, she put aside her hatred for 6 years and helped me fight that Loyalty Seal until it could be altered. I have never felt as alive as I do now. I have lived and breathed for this moment, sweat, cried and bled so that I could see your twisted face as I started my revenge. And this is only the beginning! I will tear down all you have built, raze what you have created and obliterate everything that embodies you! I don't care what Grandfather did to you, I only want to make you suffer for what I endured!"

The ground cracked under their feet as the pair shot forward.

"Vengeance will be mine!"

Naruto all but screamed his declaration, drawing Shisui's tanto to combat the signature weapon of the Leaf's Yellow Flash. Sparks soared and they hacked, slashed, kicked and punched in the battlefield, neither aware or caring about the others. They were burning with passions that ran so deep, desires that clashed their souls that were poured into the fight. The short sword flew up in the air and the human prescence flashed through signs, ending in Tiger.

"Fire Style: Fire Run!"

A fence of chakra fire ignited in the rubble, raging a great metre high, enclosing Minato in it. The dragon presence caught the sword and sheathed it, choosing his fists. He ran right through the fire, a lightning fast left hook colliding with the blonde's cheek. Despite being shorter and younger, held the advantage in hand to hand so he would exploit it and his biological father's arrogance and rage. A kick hammered into the Kage's stomach and he nearly fell in the fire.

"You damn brat!" He bellowed, slashing back at Naruto with his kunai. The Dragon Slayer raised his wrapped arm and the kunai's blade broke off when it tried to contest the arm underneath. He threw the broken blade away. White peeked from under the wrapping and Naruto returned to his proper state of mind.

' _To hell with this wrapping anyway, I never liked it._ ' Naruto thought, tearing it off to reveal his scaled arm. Minato's eyes widened at the sight. "See this arm? You made me have to bear it when you tried to capture me on the night I left! I severed this arm just to be free!"

"Bullshit! An Uchiha Policeman cut off your arm you little fool!"

His eyes flashed dangerously, fiery orange once more. " _ **What?! I cut off this arm with a shuriken to get away!**_ "

"No shuriken makes a cut that clean! That was the work of a sword!" Minato rebutted him.

" _ **SHUT UP! STOP LYING YOU MOTHERFUCKER!**_ " The draconic presence roared. He hurled himself at the Hokage, delivering and massive blow to his face, sending the blonde flying into a broken down building with a single punch. " _ **THAT SHIT YOU'RE BLABBING NEVER HAPPENED AND WE BOTH KNOW IT!**_ "

His eyes had turned sky blue for a moment then red and slitted, the eyes of the Nine Tails. The human mind was in control again. His whisker marks became far more prominent and his nails sharpened. This time there was only three seals.

"FIRE STYLE: FIREBALL JUTSU!"

A giant blazing orb blasted from his mouth, bearing down on Minato who countered with his own jutsu. Four Dragon Flame Bombs were needed to counter the strong fireball. They both burst through the smoke and reengaged in their Taijutsu skirmish, blows battering the air itself. The amount of Kurami's chakra flowing through his body at the moment was enough for Naruto to equal Minato's larger form and experience that was so overbearing to his own. Well, he had the mental experience of 29 years but his body only had the equivalent to 12 of those years. The air was split as his slashing fist made contact with Minato's side.

Flash Step against the Uchiha's Intercepter Fist, it was a clash of their styles. Disciplined speed and impact against strategically used strength and reactive attacks. Both had trained to master their senses. But Naruto's senses were superior. His enhanced sight picked out the feint and allowed him to block the sweeping kick that would have met his back. Minato might be faster, but his reaction time did not equal that of a Dragon Slayer who physically trained their whole life. His sense of smell could track the man wherever he chose to attack from, his ability to hear the very heartbeat of his opponent, how he breathed, the tensing of his muscles and, far from the last, he could feel the change in the air on his skin. Then add to that his sensory abilities, energy and emotional, he could track even the man as fast as lightning and react accordingly.

Naruto's leg sliced through the place where Minato's head had been a moment before like a blade. He crouched to evade a slashing kunai and delivered a bone-grinding kick to the bastard's chin, not unlike the initial move of the Primary Lotus that Lee used on him. Lightning chirped in his left hand and he soared up, screaming,

"CHIDORI!"

Minato twist and brought down a spiralling orb of chakra to collide with the One Thousand Birds. "Rasengan!"

They both roared as they leaned fully into the clash. Neither were giving or gaining any ground. Red slits swapped out for crimson eyes with twin tomoe that spiralled into a triangle spiral. The veins became visible and Naruto cried tears of blood, onyx black fire igniting on the lightning and pure chakra.

Minato pulled away sharply, a gut feeling telling him that those flames were deadly to touch. Naruto pushed through, not caring about them, simply sweeping them aside with an arm. Minato saw the eyes. _Those eyes._ The eyes he should have! Naruto stared him in the face with them. And then he screamed. He screamed so loud the Hokage felt like he'd gone deaf for a moment. Malevolent crimson red chakra exploded from his body and formed into a bubbling cloak with one tail and fox ears.

"YOU'RE GONNA DIE!"

"No, you're coming with me!"

Naruto snarled. The chakra cloak swirled around his hand, crimson chakra pooling in the palm. A crimson spiralling sphere formed as he weaved one handed signs. Crimson lightning screamed from his left hand, the orb in his right. He leapt at Minato, who held a Rasengan the size of a small boulder in his hand. The names echoed across the wasteland of the besieged village.

"Giant Rasengan!"

"Nine Tailed Chidori!"

The crimson lighting dug into the large blue ball. It dispersed as it broke through and the Nine Tailed Rasengan was swung round, on course to collided with Minato's torso. Closer. Closer. Closer. Almost touching. Then his head burned with pain and the Rasengan exploded into a shower of chakra particles inside his Version 1 Cloak. Naruto tumbled into the rubble, a memory on replay.

 _Flashback_

" _The Hidden Sound Village created by Orochimaru cannot continue to exist due to the threat it still poses to the safety of the Leaf." Minato was sat behind his desk, cold calculating stares being directed at all the Foundation Anbu before him. At their head was Naruto, emotionless and determined._

" _As such, it must be… attended to. Naruto, take this platoon and wipe out all inhabitants of Orochimaru's village. Leave none alive, man, woman and child, gender, age, story, these things are peripheral. Do you understand my son?"_

 _He replied without thought or feeling. "Yes, father."_

The vison changed to standing on a mountain ridge.

 _Naruto stood at the head of the secret division of the Leaf, overlooking the village below._

" _Kill them all."_

 _End Flashback_

Naruto snarled even more. The cloak intensified. The chakra tail lashed and writhed, twisting and swinging about dangerously. It grew bigger and with a sickening sound, split into two separate tails that Naruto sent at Minato for reminding him of that horrible day. As fast as lightning, Minato hurled a kunai up and flashed to it, evading the dual prong attack from the tails. Another flash and he was right next to his runaway Jinchuuriki, hand coming down where the Loyalty Seal was to reinsert his chakra into it. Naruto's mouth opened.

A shockwave of pure chakra exploded from his jaws and blew Minato back. The tails seized his ankles and Naruto's human aspect that had taken control proceeded to smash the Namikaze into everything he could find. Walls, rubble, anything in reach of them. Each time Minato was pulled from the dusty rubble, he looked bloodier and even more beaten around. No shinobi dared intervene for fear of receiving the same treatment. One word to describe it. Brutal. Naruto drew chakra into his lungs and changed it to Fire Nature in preparation to torch his biological father.

"Burn in hell, you unforgivable bastard!"

A foot collided with the Dragon Slayer's head. He flew into a wreckage headfirst, smashing into it like a wrecking ball. Like a thing possessed, Naruto ripped himself from the rubble and turned to face the person who dared interfere. When he saw who it was, even the pain of his left eye was nothing compared to the shock.

Naruko stood there, ragged and tired but serious. She just didn't know when to quit, she far too much like their mother when in her prime. He growled, descending to all fours like an animal. Upon seeing her brother in the Jinchuuriki cloak, Naruko sighed resignedly. No choice then. ' _Hey fox…_ '

' _ **I know.**_ ' Her fox groaned after that. ' _ **My damn other half doesn't know how to mentor her container. Then again, when she gets mad, even Shukaku runs like he's a mouse being chased like a bat out of hell. But first, a question.**_ '

Naruko grimaced. ' _Make it quick. 'To never stays his hand long._ '

The Yang Nine Tails put it to her plain and straight. ' _ **How much do you trust me?**_ '

The blonde thought it over and answered with a truth that surprised even her. ' _With my life. You may have some humanity issues but you've never lied to spare my feelings or been personally hurtful. You're the brutally honest big brother of the family, no matter what anyone else says._ '

Inside the seal, the fox was shocked and reminded incredibly strikingly of one he considered an elder brother. ' _ **Thank you, Naruko. You truly are kind, just like the Six Paths' younger son Ashura. I can see a lot him in you clearly with these clouded eyes of mine.**_

' _ **My strength, my knowledge. Call upon me when you need me, ask what you will of me. I will be what you want me to be, now and forever.**_ ' He pledged. Naruko smiled.

' _How about friends?_ '

' _ **I would be happy to call you my friend.**_ ' The Yang fox smiled happily.

' _So what do I call you? Nine Tails can't be your name._ '

' _ **My name… is Kuramos. When we were one, my other half and I were called Kurama but when we were split, we took on adaptions of that name. She has renamed herself too though I do not know what.**_ '

' _Thanks Kuramos._ '

Red chakra bubbled around her, forming a cloak of two tails to combat Naruto's. "This is the end of the conflict between us Big Brother."

He snapped. "I have no quarrel with you, twin of mine. Go back with the others, only one dies today."

"And I won't let it be you!" She interjected in her slightly feral tone. "You can't beat Father, he's a Kage, you're just a Genin!"

"No! I am so much more than a Genin! I have become far greater! I said it before and I'll say it again. I am a Jinchuuriki, I left humanity behind long ago. If you won't stay out of my way…" The third tail spouted. "I will simply have to show you why I am the strongest Jinchuuriki alive."

Kurami's voice rang in his head again. ' _ **No, don't! You can't handle…**_ '

His skin peeled off and blood exited the cloak, creating a black mist that shaped into a dome around him. A pillar of darkness smashed down on it and for the second time in the present timeline, Naruto went Version 2. When the dome shattered, his new form was revealed. His limbs were slender and a red-black cloak had warped his form. Long ears extended from his head and from the tailbone, _four_ tails writhed and lashed about. Hollow white glowing eyes bore into Naruko's own red slitted. The creature's jaws opened and revealed the glowing white maw within.

" **You're not too old for me to still bend you over my knee,** _ **Little Sister!**_ "

To demonstrate his point, Naruto swiftly charged a chakra bullet between his jaws and let it fly. It struck her in the chest and she flew back. " **Stay down.** "

"Not until you do!" She yelled. Naruto barely saw the seals. A serpent of water fired from her mouth and smashed into him like a battering ram. The rubble shattered underneath him and Naruto skidded through the wasteland of the Leaf. He got up snarling.

" **You can't keep up for long!** "

Lightning crackled around his right claw and Naruto hurled a bolt like it took no effort at all. It speared through the earth shield that was erected and blasted Naruko tumbling across the ground. He was right about her endurance. The damage he'd inflicted on her prior made it so keeping a cloak active was quite painful and it would damage her significantly before long. And Kuramos was concerned.

' _ **Naruko, he's right. Your body can't handle my cloak for long, despite me holding back my malice as much as possible. If he can spout another tail and keep his mind, you're in serious trouble. Usually it's impossible for a Jinchuuriki to enter Version 2 and stay in control but he seems to have managed it. My suspicion is that he has enough sheer power of will, enough drive to keep his mind because his own hate rivals my other half's. But, he is likely totally focused on harnessing the cloak so he probably can't multitask all too well. Give him enough of a headache with your clones and he'll snap, making it infinitely easier to combat him.**_ ' He explained mentally.

' _Got it._ '

Naruko bounded towards him on all fours, waiting for her twin to react. Closer. Closer. Closer. Closer. Now! She was about a metre off when Naruto stabbed with a tail, aiming to debilitate her. Leaping high, Naruko crossed her fingers, metaphorically and literally, and used her favourite jutsu.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

8 clones with cloaks of Kuramos' chakra exploded into being and descended, using the sun from behind them to blind him to their numbers. Naruto blocked a slash with a forearm and let the original tumble past him. The clones struck, perfectly in sync with one another. "Water Style: Archerfish!"

8 jets of water powered into him, sending Naruto flying into his twin's clothesline and tumbling into a destroyed house. The clones landed and the wreckage of the building exploded. A black and crimson pillar reached up into the sky and a small dome enclosed the elder twin. Peering hard, Naruko could see Naruto collapse inside the chakra pillar, trying to get up over and over, pain contorting his bloak-cloaked features. He gasped out a few words.

" **Can't… hold it back… Kurami… forgive me… I didn't listen…** "

A massive flare of foul chakra spiralled down around the pillar and struck him, furthering the transformation. His nails grew even longer, his mane of cloaked hair became spikier and he rose up on all fours, mindless. He had four tails. Squelch! Five tails. Squelch! Six. A skeleton formed and draped over him. A fox skeleton. Chakra infused blood made tendrils that connected the skeleton to the cloak at his hand, forearms, upper arms, thighs, calves and all up his spine. The skull parts, the cranium and the jaw, armored and extended from his cloaked head like a helmet. No longer was any consciousness of Naruto in control, this thing wasn't even sentient. It had no higher comprehension than to simply… destroy!

All the denizens of the Leaf, the invading Sand and Sound, even all the other ninja were watching the battle of the twins. Sasuke stopped in top of a building on the other side of the village with Hinata, watching the deadly showdown. Not a single person dared interfere.

"What. The. Hell. How did Itachi ever control him if he can go this far?" The Uchiha was gobsmacked. Hinata agreed.

"Naruko has never even come close to being _that._ What on earth is causing such a big change?"

Naruto roared. A shockwave reverberated throughout the village and all the remaining water evaporated off him. Naruko was just absolutely… terrified… of what he had become, in a flash. Kuramos spoke. ' _ **Naruko, he's not conscious anymore, that makes him more dangerous. He wasn't going to seriously hurt you before, but now he isn't in control… he'll kill you. All he knows now is destruction, to shatter, to burn and to**_ **kill** _**everything in his path. You need to get him out of the village before he hits seven tails or the whole place will be just a crater in the ground.**_ '

' _I can't do it!_ ' She frantically thought. ' _He's to strong! He…_ ' She was interrupted.

' _ **Shut up and stop being such a goddamned pussy! Naruko, you have made me like you, made me your friend, this is just another Tuesday for you! Yes, he has incredible individual strength, but he is weak because he has lost the will to love! This isn't even his strength, this foul power belongs to my other half, not him. You can beat him, I believe in you, now run girl, run!**_ '

Naruko dogpiled him with her clones, wrapping their tails around him and restraining him. Then they ran. They ran out if the village, dragging the creature with them. They dragged Four Tailed Naruto to the lake then he slashed apart all the clones.

" **RAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWR!** "

Another bolt of foul energy hit the cloak and Naruto was lost inside the growing mass of chakra-blood. It grew to a quarter the full Kurama's size. White bones formed a complete skeleton of a massive fox inside the black and red shape that closely resembled the feminine Yin fox. It had a great seven tails. Now, Kurami came out, forgetting the Sixteen Trigrams Divine Seal since Ten Tails had settled down. Her rage-filled voice echoed across the land, hatred permeating each syllable.

" **You are truly foolish, Yang, to think your container can even come close to our power! You are nothing little brat!** "

' _ **Naruko.**_ ' Kuramos said calmly as her cloak disapated. ' _ **Switch with me, there's something I wanna say to her. You listen from in here for a bit.**_ '

' _Sure._ '

Naruko's closed eyes opened and struck fear into the Leaf Ninja watching when they saw the crimson slitted orbs. A voice not her own spoke with absolute certainty, not wavering for a moment.

" **Hey Yin, why don't you shut up and get back in your cage, 'cause no one in here give two shits what you say. This 'little brat' is far from nothing, so take those words and shove them up your ass, they don't fit the girl right here!** " The Yang fox proudly rapped Naruko's chest with a fist, over her heart. " **She's kind and brave beyond measure, her words are nothing but truth when she speaks, 'cause it all comes from her heart! I am glad we were split 13 years ago because, what happened that night gave me a chance! That chance was to get to know, like, befriend and love such a great person, and receive it all in return! I know that we both feel the same, 'cause I can feel her smile and joy right now! It makes me feel so happy, so strong, so** _ **pure**_ **, I've never felt like this before, not even with Ashura! I feel alive! She's my partner, my friend, my little sister, and I'm gonna fight until my last breath with her! And, when the time comes, I'll go with her to the afterlife! So up yours, wallow in hate if you want, just don't lump us in with you, we're nothin' like you! Naruko and me, we're never gonna part, not even at the end, 'cause we're best friends!** "

' _You really mean that Kuramos?_ '

' _ **Definitely! Every word of it! Now go get 'em girl!**_ '

Naruko looked up at the titanic fox who was physically swelling with rage. Muscles formed, flesh coated them and Kurami grew to her full size. Two more tails appeared, making the full set of nine. Dull brown fur grew out and it was done. The full transformation, Tailed Beast Secret Art: Complete Possession.

' _ **Pfft. Complete Possession is a footnote compared to what we can do now. You wanna give it a spin?**_ '

Naruko gave a foxy smirk. ' _Do I ever?_ ' She paused, took and breath and continued while the Yang fox closed his eyes. ' _You're not the Demon Fox anymore, your an asset to the heir of the Uzumaki Clan, you're my partner, my best friend…_ ' The Nine Tails half opened his eyes. The seal shattered.

' _ **Paraphrasing from Iruka are we? Well, I won't object, so go with it.**_ '

"Let's rock this this place… Kuramos!"

The Nine-Tails Chakra Mode coated Naruko's body in yellow chakra, which emanated from her reminiscent of flickering flames. Her parted fringe floated upwards like two horns on her head, six magatama markings appeared around her neck and a kind of circle/swirl similar to the Uzumaki Clan's symbol and various other lines extending along her body all faded into existence. But the change didn't stop there.

Her pupils became slitted, the whisker markings on her face became thick black lines on her face and the chakra shroud's shape altered to resemble a full-length coat, similar to the one Minato usually wote but long sleeved.

' _ **It's time. Go big or go home.**_ '

With Kuramos' guidance Naruko created full-size replica of him. Whereas other jinchuuriki's Tailed Beast Modes caused them to fully transform into their respective tailed beast, her's was only an alteration of her earlier chakra cloak, changed, to resemble Kuramos. The replica was the same translucent orange colour and had similar dark lines all across its body. Naruko herself hovered within the construct's head.

The Yang fox grunted. ' _ **Fair warning, we've only got about 5 minutes since your body is still too young to handle it for too long, the link is no trouble at all, so let's roll.**_ '

Nine Tails against Nine Tails. Half against half. Yin against Yang. Twin against twin. The clash of the Darkness and, the Light. The Yin fox looked absolutely shocked and furious that they had achieved the perfect link state in such an incredibly short amount of time. " **How?!** "

"Friendship, trust, and a whole lotta something you haven't got!" Naruko retorted. Kuramos spoke from his avatar, smirking like Christmas had come early.

" **This is gonna be fun!** "

 **AN: Battle continues next chapter**

 **Shadow Clone Jutsu - Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**

 **Water Style: Archerfish - Suiton: Teppōuo**

 **Giant Rasengan - Odama Rasengan**

 **Nine Tailed Rasengan - Kyubi Rasengan**

 **Nine Tailed Chidori - Kyubi Chidori**

 **Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu - Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu**

 **Didn't get them all, sorry**


	20. Old Friend

" _Shukaku, Matatabi, Isobu, Son Goku, Kokuo, Saiken, Chomei, Gyūki, Kurama. My time grows short, I will not live much longer. I called you to this plane to say goodbye, and to ask something of you all, as my children." Hagoromo smiled. "Never give up on what you believe in, no matter what. Indra and Ashura will take care of you, I know they will, so I have told them the same._

" _There will come a time when you are divided, maybe even pitted against each other. When that time comes, Indra and Ashura will reunify you again. But first, you will have to make them accept one another, for they will have torn themselves away from each other. Ashura will try to close the gap, but Indra will push further away, he will isolate himself and shut everyone out. But one of you will be able to break through and connect with him through hardship and great effort._

" _When you come together again, with new names and new forms, I hope you will find what true strength is. Goodbye my children."_

 _The young Tailed Beasts turned to go Shukaku through Gyūki. The fox kit was about to go when the Sage's voice stopped it. "Kurama, stay a moment please."_

 _Kurama turned around and stopped fading, solidifying while he responded._

" _Yes Father?"_

 _The great man's age seemed to catch up with him and he sat down opposite his eldest Tailed Beast child who looked with inquisitiveness into his Rinnegan._

" _You always were the most aware of your siblings, maybe you have sensed who will be the one to break through to Indra?"_

" _I'm not sure…" Kurama started. "But I think it will be me, or at least some part of me. I don't know why but I think that I'm the one. Why?"_

 _Hagoromo smiled, ruffling the Nine Tailed Fox's fur affectionately. "I have received a vision of the future Little Kurama. I have seen you stand in battle with Indra as he clashes with Ashura. You gave everything for him and I know you will again, the second time for the sake of his perfect reincarnation who you will come to be bonded to, accompany and even defend, in time. But I have also forseen great conflict amongst the other Tailed Beasts, and they will need a counterbalance, one who will bring them equilibrium. As much as I wish love was the answer, Indra is right here. It must be power that decides this battle, so you must become the counterbalance for your siblings. I will give you the remaining primordial chakra of Ten Tails within me to augment you, and you will have power beyond all of your siblings combined. Be careful however, power can corrupt."_

" _I will do my best to hold on to who I am Father, and not lose myself in this power you give me. If I must become greater than them, I will do it for their sake, not my own. Do what you will Father, I am ready."_

 _The Sage laid his hand on Kurama's brow and transfused Ten Tails' remaining power into his third eldest child. Kurama's majestic fur, royal gold that shone like the sun, darkened and became orange, the silver tips of his tails disappearing and his golden iris turned bloody crimson, his pupils lengthened to slits and black fur shadowed his eyes and the inside of his long ears. His teeth became fangs, his nails claws and he bulked up a bit, becoming more muscular. He emitted an aura of power and his presence commanded respect. Within, the spirit of the Tailed Beast warped and inverted, no longer fitting the body._

" _I feel such... such raw_ _ **power. I have never felt strength like this before. I thank you Father, now I can protect the others.**_ " _The fox's father only smiled._

" _It is no less than you deserve Kurama, and I hope you never fall to desire. One day your body and spirit will be severed and you will finally feel at peace. I see how the others adore Ashura, so I ask this of you my third child; may your spirit always stand by Indra's side, no matter what form his spirit and chakra may take, no matter who they attach to, and may your body be by Ashura throughout the ages, he will always need you as a pillar. Bring them both into their own, and you will find peace. I only regret I had to give you the burden of such immense power, power greater than your siblings combined."_

Kuramos smiled when he reflected the words. " **I finally know what the old man meant all those years ago. Let's see how well you remember,** _ **Spirit!**_ "

" **This will be our final crossroads,** _ **Body!**_ " Kurami snarled. " **This ends here!** "

The two Nine Tails charged. Kurama clashed with itself. Kurami called on her hidden power and spat a surge of blackness at Kuramos. " **Shadow Style: Darkness Breath!** "

The Yang countered with a radiant light from clapped forepaws. " **Light Style: Purity Blast!** " Not missing a beat, Kuramos launched another technique without signs. " **Light Style: Holy Daggers!** "

A hailstorm of white knives sliced the air and Kurami devoured them. " **Where there is light, there will always be shadows!** "

" **I will not allow you to devour Naruko's light, no matter what. I swore upon my tails to stand by Ashura and I will, for she is his perfect reincarnation, as Naruto is Indra's! Even the day must give way to the night but it never goes away!** "

Kurami pounced on him and snapped at his neck, her teeth ripping into the orange tinted yellow chakra. The Yang fox merely let out a throaty laugh as he threw her off with his tails, transformed into chakra hands. ' _ **Naruko, make a massive version of your Rasengan inside each of my tails, we need some sly tricks here.**_ '

" **You can't hurt me Yin! This avatar is made of chakra, not flesh! But you…** "

Kuramos flicked his tails and hurled the nine spiralling spheres right into his other half's stomach. " **You're all too easy to hurt!** "

The land was being devastated by the altercation. Naruko grimaced sheepishly. ' _I think they're gonna have to redraw the maps a bit Kuramos._ '

' _ **Details. You**_ **want** _**Yin to wipe out the Leaf?**_ '

' _No! But…_ '

' _ **Can't properly duke it out without collateral damage, just doesn't work that way Naruko.**_ ' Kuramos sent while lashing Kurami across the face with four tails. He swiftly opened his maw and let Naruko fire a giant torrent of water to soak Kurami before closing it to keep her safe. The Yin fox paused a moment to shake off her fur before firing a chakra bullet barrage. ' _Did you see that Kura?_ '

' _ **Yeah.**_ ' He liked that nickname. It was short and catchy. ' _ **Apparently Yin doesn't like water. Back in the old days, Kurama, us as one, hated getting wet, primarily because it messed with its Fire Nature chakra manipulation… that's it!**_ '

' _What?!_ ' Naruko thought whilst the chakra avatar jumped high in the air to avoid having arcs of lightning strike it.

' _ **What chakra natures has your twin displayed? This is important!**_ ' Kuramos barrel rolled in the air to evade another chakra bullet. Naruko wracked her memory hard. ' _Fire… Lightning… oh, and Wind!_ '

The Yang fox construct slammed his paws down in the earth and made four walls to enclose the Yin for a moment. ' _ **Then that's why she hates water! His Primary Nature is Fire so she doesn't want that dampened by being soaked, ind is regardless and Water conducts Lightning Chakra well so she wanted to avoid electrocuting herself! Oh, we've got this in the bag now!**_ '

' _How's that?_ '

' _ **Think about it.**_ ' They rolled under a firestorm and nailed Kurami in the face with a left hook, followed by a tail smack. ' _ **In Complete Possession State, and this unique Tailed Beast State, a Tailed Beast is limited to their most general skills like Tailed Beast Bomb, chakra bullet and limb manifestation and physical prowess. In addition to this, we are further limited to our host's chakra natures and jutsu repertoire. Your brother is incredibly vulnerable on the defense since he has no defensive elements at all, save that strange arm of his but Yin doesn't have that. All he has is Fire, Lightning and Wind, all of which are weak to Water in this case. We toss her in the water and keep her there, we cut off her jutsu for the most part.**_ '

' _Let's do it!_ '

Hurling a few trees for the Yin to burn up, Kuramos bounded fast across the forest, a massive collision being the result. Kurami flew back and rolled through the forest, towards the bank of the massive lake. Something snapped in her and she overcame her dislike of a certain power.

" **Oh damn! I didn't think she would use it given how much we both dislike it.** "

"What?"

Kurami started at them with two tomoe going horizontal from her slitted pupils, burning with hate. Both averted their gaze from the cursed eyes of the Uchiha, now wielded by the Yin Nine Tails.

" **Sharingan.** "

…..

Minato Namikaze groaned as he forced himself up out the rubble he'd been planted in by Naruto. That had been nasty. He spat a little blood and set about healing his injuries. His Medical Ninjutsu was by no means up to the standard of the medical program but it was enough for quick combat healing. The green chakra buzzed around his hand while he passed it over the major wounds, which took the best of five minutes. Then he got to his feet.

Before he had blacked out, he'd seen Naruko intercept her twin. He had to assume she had engaged him and they had drawn the battle away from the village, to the outskirts probably. He felt for the marker he had on the kunai in Naruko's pouch. It was about 600 metres away from the village walls and spiking hard with chakra levels around it. Calling on his chakra, he flashed away to the marker.

He landed on a tree 6 metres away from a massive yellow mass of chakra. Looking up, he saw it was a chakra avatar of the Nine Tails Yang, with Naruko inside the head. It seemed she had the Nine Tails under control. And so soon too, it was practically unfathomable. But he wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Looking opposite his daughter, he saw the Yin Nine Tails fully reformed. Naruto was nowhere in sight, it fox must of taken over. ' _Looks like Naruko has better control._ '

Then he noticed the Sharingan in the brown Fox's eyes. It could use it? That should be impossible! Then the fox noticed him.

" **FOURTH HOKAGE!** "

A female, demonic voice reverberated in his ears. It wanted his blood. Naruko directed her fox to shoulder ram it back before it could go for him. The flesh and blood fox fell into the deep lake and fully submerged, swiftly followed by the chakra fox. They grappled in the water, thrashing around, causing wave and rippled of massive proportions. The yellow chakra fox planted its forepaw on the head of the Yin and shoved her head under the surface. Clearly not happy about the dunking, the female Nine Tails lashed a tail around the male's snout and forced the head up, lessening his grip, allowing her to slip out. Her claws blurred to obliterate the head of the avatar with Naruko in it. A chakra tail changed into a hand and caught Kurami's wrist, the result being no harm coming to the young blonde girl.

" **Try to kill my best friend will you?!** " Kuramos roared angrily. " **Try this then! Light Style: Redeemer Blade!** "

A katana of pure light formed in his left paw-hand and he drove it through Kurami's lower stomach savagely. Enraged and hurt, the Yin fox coated her claws in Wind Chakra and slashed through the blade, pushing it out her back. The wound sealed with a red glow and a hiss. But he was nearing the five minute limit.

' _ **Naruko, times almost up. We need to make him revert or it will be suicide for you to fight your twin.**_ '

' _How do we do that?_ '

Kuramos clapped his hands and focused.

' _ **I can force Yin's chakra back into the seal but it needs to be done in this last minute. It takes about 40 seconds to prepare and I can't part my hands so you have to control my avatar well enough to hold her off. Get to it!**_ '

Naruko directed the avatar to leap high and open its maw go allow her to fire a series of water bullets. They wet Kurami's fur even more and made her even angrier. She charged, Sharingan blazing. "Oh damn! I think I made her mad!" Naruko panicked.

" **Calm down. Get your fear under control and listen to me. You can do this, you have always been able to do this because you are my Jinchūriki. You can hold her off now DO IT!** "

A titanic Rasengan formed on one of the tails and Naruko made the avatar jump again. The blue spiralling sphere exploded on impact.

" **30 seconds.** "

Kurami snapped. Blue and red chakra spiralled about her mouth and began forming a purple-black orb. Naruko acted purely on reflex and shoved her hands forwards, pooling Kuramos' chakra to a single point.

" **25 seconds, careful, the red blue ratio is 3 to 7.** "

They both fired, all three yelling,

" **TAILED BEAST BOMB!** "

Naruko's Tailed Beast Bomb struck the underside of Kurami's slightly and they both soared up in the air, looping around each other. They exploded, a massive detonation far above their heads. Kuramos' avatar ran on two legs, rushing Kurami who was unable to see their chakra with the Dojutsu amongst the massive amounts in the air.

" **5.** "

Closer.

" **4.** "

Closer.

" **3.** "

Face to face.

" **2.** "

Kuramos' tails wrapped around Kurami's limbs, preventing interference.

" **1.** "

The Yang half pulled his hands apart and slammed the left onto the Yin's brow, gripping hard. The seal shone soft red and Kurami shrank back into Naruto's form. At the same moment, Naruko's usage of Kuramos' Chakra Mode ended too and she dropped to the surface of the water with him.

Naruto hit the lake on his side, pure habit keeping him afloat with water walking. A second later, Naruko landed on her feet to find him retching into the lake. Black blood fell from his mouth, tainting the water, turning it dark.

"It finally happened…"

Naruto spoke like a wraith, rasping through the coughing fit. His twin was confused.

"What happened?"

He threw up more midnight blood and answered haltingly. "The disease… my adoptive… father had… when he gave me his magic… he gave me his blood… and his disease… he died not knowing… that I received it… it comes and goes… but someday it will kill me…"

With a final horrific retch, the fit was over and Naruto staggered to his feet atop the water. Flicking his hands outwards as they rose to his sides, he ignited crimson flames about them. They slowly darkened as he spoke quietly.

"I don't know what the Nine Tails did while I was out but there's something different about you now. You're… more sure of yourself, more ready to fight me. Don't tell me you actually think you can win? I beat you before and I'll do it again if I have to."

Minato appeared behind Naruto in an instant and the white haired Dragon Slayer seemed to sense him. He couldn't turn around in time. So he did the one thing he could. A shroud of black hellfire engulfed Naruto's entire body and burnt Minato badly, so much so that he collapsed. Turning his back on Naruko, Naruto looked down at his biological father. And his face twisted with unfathomable hatred as he knelt down, to whisper in the Hokage's ear.

" _I want to kill you so bad right now!_ " His clawing hand drew back and blazed with midnight flames like a jetstream, firing around it like a glove, barely half a centimetre thick. " _It would be so easy!_ "

His hand thrust right at Minato, the five digits stabbing into his skin, through the coat, flak jacket and cyan top, bearing in on his heart. Minato screamed in pain and Naruko's hands covered her mouth. The Flames of the Abyss burned away, scorching his flesh, cauterising the wound as the hellfire claws dug in. Naruto felt the soft flesh melting away beneath his finger then give. He'd gotten past the flesh. He screamed for all to hear.

"SO WHY CAN'T I KILL YOU?!"

Kuramos switched with Naruko and spoke.

" **Because you don't have it in your heart to do it.** "

Naruto turned on him in an instant, snarling ferally. "What the hell would you know about it?! YOU DON'T KNOW ME!"

He tore his bloody fingers from Minato's chest and activated the Sharingan with the small amount of chakra he had regained since he couldn't use Kurami's due to the glowing soft red seal in his forehead. Without hesitation, he let the Mangekyō spin into life and and viciously suppressed the Yang fox's consciousness. His chakra turned cold and he attacked, leaving Minato to writhe on the water. Naruko was forced to defend herself against his black Flames of the Abyss, sustaining burns in the process. Her jacket caught fire. She was forced to cast it off to avoid further injury and Naruko was left wearing just her crop-top, shorts and sandals.

' _Kuramos, help!_ '

' _ **You need to put his flames out and stop him completely. There's only one option to those ends.**_ '

' _What?_ ' Kuramos was blunt in his response.

' _ **Drown him.**_ '

Naruto sent a spiralling whip of flames at her and lashed her arms as Naruko jumped away. "You don't know me at all! What makes you think you know anything about it?! I've suffered so much because of _him_ and I. Can't. Kill. Him. WHY?! I'm like this now because I never had love, I was on my own from the very beginning! You had a loving family! You had everything! And what did I have?! NOTHING!" His eyes turned fiery again

" _ **Stop slowing me down! Stop holding me up! Enough's enough! You only ever gave me a broken heart, and I returned the favor! There's nothing left for you to give me!**_ " He didn't sound at all sane anymore.

Realising there was no room for argument here, Naruko created an army of clones and the first tackled him round the knees, dragging him underwater. Before Naruto could even destroy the first clone, 4 more had taken hold of him and dragged him further under. Naruko herself watched from the surface as her clones swam her twin deeper and deeper into the depths of the lake. When he was pulled to the bottom, all the clones piled on, holding him there. the Yang fox spoke to all the Narukos.

' _ **Keep him underwater for about three minutes, he'll lose his breath after about 2 and the extra minute is to be sure he's out.**_ '

A voice came across the psychic link, soft and defeated. ' _You can't lock up the Dragon._ '

' _What?_ ' Naruko questioned.

' _I said…_ ' A new voice overtook Naruto's, deafening and draconic. ' _ **YOU CAN'T LOCK UP THE DRAGON!**_ '

Black flames ignited underwater, loosely attached to Naruto's body, a last ditch attempt to get all the clones off. He burnt away a few dozen but then lost his breath into the water. Bubbles drifted up to the surface, popping on the surface. Naruko fell on one knee atop the water, shivering madly with the cold. As per Kuramos' instructions, she left him underwater for about three minutes. Her clones all exploded into smoke and he was left floating in the water.

Standing up, Naruko took a swan dive into the lake. The freezing water seeped into her bones, chilling her to the core but she kept on swimming down. Opening her eyes under the freezing water, she saw her twin falling into the black of the lake's depths, beyond sight. Kicking even harder, she reached out desperately. A touch. Her hand grasped around Naruto's cold wrist. He had possessed a burning hot temperature before, like heated metal but now he was cold as ice. She pulled hard and tucked him against her side. His white hair floated about in the water, his eyes only half closed and his skin was pale as death. Turning around, the blonde made for the surface.

' _Come on, please don't be dead Big Brother. Stay with me._ '

The moment her lungs gave out, the pair broke the surface. Gasping for air, Naruko pulled the Dragon Slayer's arms around her neck. His head rolled lifeless against her neck. He was so cold! She swam for the bank, fighting through the water. With a great effort, Naruko dragged them both back onto land and rolled on her back, flipping Naruto on his and coming to lie on his bare chest.

' _Come on girl, get a grip. You can't just lie down now._ '

With quite a struggle, Naruko pulled herself upright and laid her hands over the scar marring the flesh on top of her twin's heart area. She pushed down hard, trying to get him to breath. After trying a fair few times, she called in her fox. ' _Kura, he's not breathing!_ '

' _ **Alright, you're going to have to perform resuscitation on him. Listen and do what I say. Tilt his head up and open his mouth.**_ ' Naruko complied. ' _Now what?_ '

' _ **Pinch his nose. Now take a deep breath and put your mouth on his.**_ '

' _You mean like a kiss?_ '

' _ **No, you're going to have a full-on tongue war with him.**_ ' Kuramos snarked with his voice oozing sarcasm. ' _ **Of course it's like a kiss, where do you think the name 'Kiss of Life' came from? Just kiss him and force the air from your lungs into his. Do that until he coughs up all the water in his airway.**_ '

Rolling her eyes at the furball's annoying sarcasm, Naruko took a deep breath and placed her lips on her twin's and expelled it into his body. No reaction. So she did it again. And again. On the fifth try, she got a response. Naruto temperature shot up through the roof, comparable to the heat of a firestorm. It was a pleasant heat, not so high that Naruko couldn't bear it but enough to warm her up a little. One more try and he turned his head to the side like lightning, the cold water, now scalding hot, pouring out.

His head hit the wet grass again and Naruko moved from by his side to sitting on his lap, facing him. Naruto sat up and his Sharingan eyes opened to meet Naruko's tired sky blue. Tears were falling from her eyes, splashing on his lower chest.

"I don't want to fight you any more." She sobbed. "Please just stop! It hurts too much to see you like this!"

He didn't move at all. His Sharingan just bore into her eyes, not a single hint of emotion betrayed.

' _Kura, it's like he can't feel anymore!_ '

' _ **Only you can fix him, Naruko. He has barely known love in his life, only an overwhelming hatred for all things that embody your father. You, however, have known love all your life and he needs that kind of love to counter his hate. But to deal with another person's hate, you have to understand what causes it. Hate and love make peace when in perfect balance.**_ '

' _Hate and love…_ '

Still crying, Naruko laid her forehead against Naruto's. Their eyes were perfectly aligned. ' _If you can still love Big Brother, I'll help you find that part of your heart that still can and build it up so you can feel more that just hate._ ' And with that, she plunged into his memories.

Thousands of images flashed by as she experienced them at lightning speed. There was so much! The sealing of the Nine Tails, the two seals placed on him, being an emotionless weapon of the Leaf, Akatsuki, the Fourth Great Ninja War, the revival of Ten Tails, the slaughter of the Ninja Alliance, the appearance of the Six Paths, the deal with Shinigami, Ten Tails being sealed, travelling back in time, reliving the night of their birth, training with Itachi, awakening the Sharingan, achieving the Mangekyō, running away, meeting the Dragon Slayer, Atlas Flame, training, meeting the higher group, suffering through Thanator's rage, going to sleep that night before Atlas died… then a block.

The twins found themselves in a starlit night scape, alone. Suddenly a ball of crimson flames erupted from nowhere and expanded into a form Naruto recognised all too well.

" _Chichue?_ "

The blazing form of Atlas Flame shrunk and compressed until it became a tall human with short, thin spiky crimson hair, black sclera, bloody iris with slitted pupils and a muscular physique. " _No hitsuyō wa ari mase n tetsudzuki watashi no musuko._ Besides, I don't think your twin understands Dragon Tongue, Naruto."

"Sorry." Naruto muttered. "Force of habit. But how are you here? You died."

Altas smiled. "Only in the physical world Naruto. My spirit remains very much alive in you, however, it takes a great amount of strength to appear to you like this, I don't think I'll ever be able to do it again. So, while I'm here, I'm going to set you straight properly.

"First off, quit your lone wolf act right now Naruto, because you will not like the results if you continue to push people who love you away. Secondly, don't trust Igneel or what he wants, I know you cannot physically defy his will without consequences but you can resist him until Acnologia comes for you. He is searching for you, and he had been for 380 years, give or take. When he finds you, don't run, listen to him, and you will know why I tell you this now. Third and finally, always believe in yourself and stride with pride, you are my son and no one can take that from you. I will always love you no matter what but you are dangerously close to falling into the dark. Can you do those things?"

Naruto looked shaky. "I'll do my best."

"And that is all I can ask of you. I have some time left so I will teach you a trick Acnologia and I created." Atlas poked Naruto on the forehead and a soft crimson glow passed between them. "I've shared one of my skills with you and the knowledge for it, I hope you choose wisely."

Atlas' spirit faded and Naruko went through the remainder of his memories. The next thing either of the two knew, they were back in their previous position.

"That was…"

"Mental?" Naruto questioned. "I wouldn't be surprised if you through it was. And now you know everything about me, every single thing I tried to hide. Do you still think you can make me feel more than hate?"

Naruko threw her arms around his neck and pulled her twin close, hugging him for all she was worth. ' _What a stupid question._ ' She smiled with tears. ' _Of course I do!_ '

His arms closed around her back and Naruto buried his face in her shoulder, crying for the first time in ages. ' _Good._ ' He tightened the embrace. ' _I hate living this half-life._ '

' _You won't have to now. I'm always here for you, no matter what._ '

' _Just fix me… before I fall apart any more._ '

They stayed there for a moment longer, thoroughly enjoying their first proper physical contact in over 10 years. Then they got up, supporting each other. Naruko winced. ' _Kuramos, is it supposed to hurt like hell when I turn off Tailed Beast Mode?_ '

' _ **If you were older, no. But, with your body still being young, you have to deal with chakra overload each time. Don't even try the Chakra Mode for a week at the gate minimum, you will tear your body apart if you try, starting from your chakra coils and through the network, imploding you from within.**_ '

' _Really didn't need the imagery Yang, Kurami is bad enough._ ' Naruto mentally commented. Naruko looked over at Minato on the lake and her face twisted in anger while she tried to make to hurt him.

"I'm gonna kill him for what he did!" Naruto pulled her tightly to his chest and stood still to restrain his enraged sister.

"He's not worth it. But since we're here, I'll say something." Naruto walked on alone, reaching Minato's side. All he could see was a pathetic excuse for a person trying to hold onto his life.

"You're pathetic Minato. To think I actually wanted to kill you… honestly, I'm embarrassed that I would even make the effort." Minato spat at his feet but it didn't reach.

"Shut up! You're nothing but a failed experiment!" Naruko tensed up, ready to plunge the stage 2 Rasengan in her hand into his chest. "You're nothing!"

Naruto kicked his biological father onto his back and looked down at him with an expression of absolute emotionlessness, not giving a single hint of feeling. "Writhe in agony if you will, I don't care anymore. Try to crawl off and lick your wounds if you want, it makes no difference." He let his eyes spin into the Sharingan, then the Mangekyō.

"You are not even worth killing." Naruto let Minato see his forbidden eyes clearly in the setting sun, showing him what he could never have.

"By all means, flee; cling to your wretched life. Then, one day, when you possess the same eyes… come back and face me. Until that day, run, and keep running, clinging to life… without honor."

Naruto let blood roll down his face anew, black flames igniting next to Minato, a mere foot away. Then he turned away, disgusted at what the man had become. And he didn't look back. With his left eye crying tears of blood, he walked away, picking up Naruko bridal style and shooting off to the border.

' _Why did you leave him alive?_ ' Naruko asked.

' _Because he is not worth me becoming like him. We've both killed people, we've both lied, stolen, manipulated. But it isn't how we are alike, it's how we are not. Not killing him doesn't make me weak, it means I still have some humanity left. I look at him now and I think, how close I was to becoming like him. But there's one other thing I still have that he doesn't._ ' Naruto confessed.

' _What?_ '

Naruto looked into her eyes and let his own return to stormy blue.

' _I still have my soul._ '

 **Timeskip - 5 Days**

Naruto had hidden his family outside the village while he took Sasuke to the Raikage for the scheduled meeting with all of those who he had given knowledge of the past timeline. Arriving at the door, he knocked and there was a sharp call of "Enter!"

"About time Flame." Clearly A was not in the best of moods.

"Forgive me Lord Raikage, I was informing Sasuke of the way things work here in Cloud." To talk to the Raikage to temperence, something Naruto was beginning to develop in spades.

"Alright, I'm gonna get right to the point! At this time, the Leaf and Sand are in shambles, now is the time to strike at our rivals! As of tomorrow, two thirds of the Cloud's shinobi, of all rank, age and skills set, march on the Leaf! We will bring them down so they can't endanger the world any more than they already have! Flame, Uchiha, your knowledge of the village's defenses is critical! Once the walls are breached, we'll let Bee loose inside and he'll go full Eight Tails on them! Flame, how well can your sister control the Nine Tails?"

Naruto felt his temper rising. "Fully. Naruko is capable of complete Tailed Beast State and her bond with the Yang Nine Tails is stronger than even Bee and Eight Tails'. In all honesty, even I with my new Mangekyō Sharingan would not be able to stop her if she goes up. Not that I or she will be part of this butchery."

The Raikage slammed his hands down on his desk, breaking it. "What did you just say?!"

"Naruko and I will have no part of your dominance Raikage, as we have fully reestablished our psychic link and in a mere second, I can tell her to go full Tailed Beast Mode on _this_ village and she will, because she is right outside of it! I can surpress both Yugito and Bee's attempts to counter her with a mere second of eye contact for each and set you ablaze with Amaterasu, all of this in a mere 20 seconds if you continue." His eyes spiralled into his Mangekyō Sharingan as he spoke, an aura of power similar to Madara's exuding from his eyes. Sasuke activated his too and A was faced with two wielders of the Mangekyō Sharingan.

"You would betray your own village?! You scum!"

Naruto's eyes glowed dangerously. "The Nine Tails is right, I am more like Madara than I ever thought. Village, Shinobi, Clan, what are these things to me? Simple, they are testaments to the failures of leaders past, leader who were blind. But I see clearly now. I now know how to stop the past timeline from repeating itself, how to save the world. I have made my decision and I will never waver."

"Oh?!" A was generating his Lightning Style Armor. Naruto simply let his chakra become cold again and the shadows seemed to draw to him, crimson flames licking in a circle around his feet.

"I will destroy the past! Only then will the future ever change!"

The desk shattered and the Raikage let his Armor rage fully. "What gives you the right, you insolent brat?!"

The crimson flames engulfed Naruto and Sasuke jumped out the window to avoid his expanding aura. The hellfire turned black and made a crescent moon over Naruto's head, his Mangekyō glowing all the while.

"I am Naruto Atlas Uzumaki Uchiha Flame, son of the Hellfire Dragon Slayer, Master of Time, prison of the Ten Tails, partner of Kurami, reincarnation of Indra, the eldest son of the Sage of Six Paths, Shinigami's servant, quarry of the Black Dragon of the Apocalypse. I have the only right. With my twin, I am whole. We will decide if the world is to preserve or raze, whether it will rise or fall. And you can do nothing to stop us. I have tamed hellfire, gigantic flames that erupt and rage from hell. She has tamed the Nine Tails and made him her friend, her partner and confidante. You will no longer use the knowledge of the future for your whims, I see the folly I made in giving it to you, all of you. So, I will take it back from you, erase what will not be."

"I'd like to see you try brat!" A roared and in a burst of speed, appeared right next to Naruto, who used his nigh indestructible right forearm to block. The result was the Dragon Slayer flying out of the window. But only to turn into a chair. Substitution. A golden glow engulfed Samui, Omoi, Karui and Mabui, removing their memories of the future and knocking them out. Naruto held the Time Magatama in his left hand, three seals being performed by his right. One Thousand Bird chirped in his right, turning golden.

"Time Chidori!"

The ground exploded under his feet and Naruto smashed through the window, shattering the pane, falling after Sasuke's course. He landed hard on one knee and the Raikage crashed down in front of him, making a crater. A lightning enhanced chop came down and Naruto was forced to block wih his left arm. A's strike bit into his arm and stopped at the bone, an excruciating wound.

They leapt back. Steam rose from the dripping cut in the Dragon Slayer's arm, the wound sealing in a matter of seconds.

Naruto whipped out a shuriken and threw it, a second one appearing out of the shadow. Shadow Shuriken Jutsu. He hurled another pair as A dodged the first two, intercepting them and reversing their course, at his former leader's back. A familiar seal, one definitely overused by his twin.

Shadow Clone Jutsu. Two identical clones poofed into existence alongside him. One grabbed him by the shirt, span around once, and hurled him at the Raikage with the force of a cannonball. A jolted away with his lightning fast speed. Naruto cracked the ground when impacting. One the other clone went after him. Swift, disciplined attacks cut the air, the dark skinned man dodging them.

The two danced back and forth. Their minds and bodies thoughts and actions were the same. Fight for your life!

Magic empowered punch to the face. A rolled with the punch and whipped his head back them forward, headbutting his opponent viscously. Kick to the stomach, sending himself flipping back and his enemy skidding. Naruto kicked the end of the sheath, knocking Shisui's tanto out and catching it with his left hand and landed on his feet. A drew back his clenched fist and they clashed again.

Locking blows, the two went in again. Each blow was meant as a finishing one.

Naruto slashed with the tanto, aiming to cut the Raikage's head off but the blond blocked with his electrified fist. Stabbing with the other hand, he almost got Naruto in stomach. The white haired boy kicked the hand away. Hard.

A viciously kicked Naruto's feet from under him. A series of stabs wracked the ground, Naruto rolling away from each one.

A lightning strike to the chest sent Naruto tumbling backwards into the dust. A jumped high in the air and brought his leg down to collide with Naruto's head.

"Guillotine Drop!"

The kick never connected.

"Susanoo!"

Instead, it struck a fiery red ribcage that wreathed the newcomer. A leapt away and the man let his Susanoo drop.

The man had onyx eyes under which were long, pronounced tear-troughs. He had jet-black hair that was pulled back in a low ponytail and his face was framed with centre-parted bangs that extended to his chin. He wore a black cloak with red clouds, outlined in white with a red interior and a slashed Leaf forehead protector to symbolise his broken ties with the Hidden Village. The cloak's high collar obscured his ponytail. Under his cloak he wore clothes similar to the rest of his organisation: mesh armour with navy accents under an identical T-shirt with a simple white belt around the waist and dark blue pants. On his right ring finger was a ring, which was red and bore the kanji for "vermilion". He wore purple nail polish on his fingers and toes and a necklace that had three silver rings with red gems inside them. In his eyes, the pattern of a Mangekyō Sharingan was present. Its design was three spiralling curves around the pupil, a tri-pronged windmill shuriken.

Naruto spoke with relief.

"It's been a while… Itachi."

 **Spells/Jutsu:**

 **Shadow Style: Darkness Breath - Inton: Yami Iki**

 **Light Style: Purity Blast - Yōton: Jundo Burasuto**

 **Light Style: Holy Daggers - Yōton: Hōrī Dagā**

 **Light Style: Redeemer Blade - Yōton: Kaimodosu Burēdo**

 **Tailed Beast Bomb - Bijuudama**

 **Flames of the Abyss - Honō no Ji Abisu**

 **Lightning Style Armor - Raiton no Yoroi**

 **Substitution Jutsu - Kawarimi no Jutsu**

 **Time Chidori - Jikan Chidori**

 **Shadow Shuriken Jutsu - Kage Shuriken no Jutsu**

 **Shadow Clone Jutsu - Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**


	21. Will The Day Come

"It's been a while… Itachi."

The Uchiha remained stoic but for a slight twitch at the edge of his mouth, the barest hint of a smile. He straightened up, deactivating the Mangekyō in his right eye, in preparation.

"It has. Almost 5 years."

Sasuke stood stock still, paralysed by his elder brother's presence. "Itachi?"

Itachi turned his head. "Sasuke… I'm not interested in you right now… wait your turn."

The Raikage had lost the last of his patience. He charged straight at the eldest Uchiha, swing his arm around for a Lariat to the throat. His Armor spiked and drew the main electrical charge to the inside of his elbow. A yelled, "Don't ignore me!"

Itachi turned his head back. The veins of his left eye became strained and visible and the Mangekyō Sharingan pulsed with the near unbreakable Genjutsu.

"Tsukiyomi."

 _A found himself in a marsh at sunset, crows cawing all around him. Itachi faded into existence before him, formed of the black birds._

" _This is my world, where everything, space, time, perception, they are all mine to control. I will torture you for 72 hours. I wonder how long until you break."_

 _Three copies of Itachi appeared around the Raikage, holding flaming swords. Chained lashed around the giant man's limbs and pulled him against a crucifixion cross. The three swords stabbed in and caused unimaginable pain. They pulled out and stabbed again. And again. And again. The Akatsuki member spoke emotionlessly, clearly unphased. "71 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds remaining."_

" _What?! That's impossible… ARGH!"_

Back in the real world, Itachi closed his eye and three seconds later, A broke down screaming and thrashing. He never saw the foot swinging. He never felt the impact. Itachi dealt the swift kick and knocked the Raikage out cold. Stepping back, he let Naruto removed the memories of the last timeline. He turned away from the prone Kage and to the younger Sharingan wielders. His Mangekyō deactivated completely and he looked upon his brother with the regular Sharingan.

"You were saying something, Little Brother?"

"…" Sasuke snapped out of his trance.

"Do you hate me? Do you want to kill me? I welcome you to…"

The younger Uchiha finally found his voice and stopped Itachi. "No! I don't want to kill you, not anymore. I've felt some of what you have and now I want to know. Why? Why kill everyone but me? Why leave only me alive? This time, tell the truth."

Itachi glared at Naruto. The Dragon Slayer shrugged and muttered, "Don't look at me like that, I had nothing to do with it."

Composing himself, he said simply, "Let's go somewhere more private, I don't want anyone overhearing. Especially your twin Naruto."

"Slight problem there." Naruto tapped his temple. "Our bond reformed, she knows everything I do now."

As they walked to a quiet spot, Itachi cursed under his breath. " _Annoying time traveler, he was bad enough as a four year old._ " He sat on a rock and began his explanation. ' _I guess I really do have to tell the truth this time._ '

"The Uchiha were planning a coup d'etat to take over the village because they felt they were being oppressed, and, Father and Mother, the leaders, hated the way everyone treated Naruto. They had come to see him as a third son in a way, the third one they wanted after you and I Sasuke. I came to realised that the village had a deep-seated distrust for the Uchiha after the Nine Tails incident. That had developed into a profound hatred for us. And that too furthered when Shisui publicly declared that he would arrest any and all attackers of Naruto, they saw it as claiming the Nine Tails as a weapon.

"I killed our clan to bury the hatred between the Leaf and the Uchiha. Both sides hated each other, and if the coup occurred, it would have gone one of two ways. If the Uchiha won, then they would have control of the village, but unless they killed everyone, then there would be people who would harbor an even deeper resentment towards the Uchiha, and given time, there would be another battle between the Uchiha and the Leaf, and this would continue until one side was completely wiped out. If the Uchiha lost, the general populace of the Leaf would no longer trust the Uchiha survivors and would likely completely shun them. This would cause a deep hatred to grow within the Uchiha survivors, and an uprising would occur.

"The Uchiha and Leaf were embroiled in their own little cycle of hatred, which was something that was kept a secret from the public. But I killed the entire clan, except you Sasuke, and to the eyes of the world, I did it for my own malevolent purposes. While I was acting for the sake of the village, if I was believed to be acting alone, it would be Uchiha killing Uchiha, and all of the world's hatred would fall upon my shoulders.

"I alone would be hated for killing our clan, and I alone would be hunted for those actions. Retribution would not fall upon the Leaf for killing the Uchiha, and the Uchiha name would be untarnished by their attempted coup. My hope was that the hatred between the Leaf and the Uchiha would die with me, so that the Leaf could maintain its peace. But I saw I was serving the wrong purpose. I have since turned my back on the Leaf. I should have chosen clan over village, with my Mangekyō and Father's, and Naruto's knowledge on our side, we could of overturned the Hokage and stopped it all."

Sasuke had tears falling down his face and his Mangekyō unconsciously activated, displaying his sadness. Itachi noticed the eyes and spoke. "I see you too have awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. That makes you the seventh person in this era to have done so."

"Who… who were the others?" Sasuke asked hesitantly. Itachi paused a moment, then answered.

"Father, Obito Uchiha, who is the masked man who controlled the Nine Tails, Shisui, me, Satsuki and Naruto. If we are talking about who is in possession of one at this moment, that would be cut down to me, Danzo, Naruto, Kakashi and Obito."

"What happened to Shisui and Satsuki?"

Naruto answered. "Shisui suicided after Danzo stole his right eye and he gave the other to Itachi, who gave it to me. As for Satsuki… she died on my kunai. I told Itachi to control me to help him slaughter the clan, but it wore off when I was confronted by Satsuki. And it was Satsuki's death that awakened both our Mangekyō. I only remembered recently, having released the subconsciously suppressed the memories of that night."

"Did Danzo take her eyes too?" Sasuke seemed angry.

"No." Naruto responded shortly. "She was left alone but I have taken her body so that I may fulfill her final wish someday and use her eyes as my Eternal Light."

"Eternal Light?"

Itachi took the reins once more. "Sasuke, do you know what the Mangekyō does to you? Every time we make use of it, the strain will deteriorate our sight until we lose all light and go blind. The man who first awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, Naruto's grandfather Madara, also discovered a way to save his sight. By trading eyes with his brother Izuna, who also possessed the Mangekyō, he awakened what is known to us as the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, or the Eternal Light.

"But there is a catch. The pattern of the Mangekyō you are transplanting to yourself must be compatible with your own, or the transplant will not take. That is why it is best done between family members, preferably immediate family.

"It is my belief that Satsuki found her pattern to be a match for Naruto's and that is why she told him to take her eyes. Something Mother discovered was that Naruto and Satsuki were always matches, they had the same blood type, same likes, same dislikes, same hobbies, same sense of humor, complementing personalities, you name it, they matched each other. I think it was on that basis that Satsuki thought her eyes were a match for Naruto's."

Naruto was impatiently tossing a small fireball up and down as Itachi spelled it out for Sasuke. Without really thinking, he replicated his Mangekyō pattern as a fire construct. When the elder Uchiha launched into his theory of matching patterns, he also conjured Satsuki's pattern. The two were quite similar, both having six lines, both red iris with black lines. Absentmindedly, Naruto raised Satsuki's higher than his and lined it up over. Bringing the two together, he found a pull while closing his eyes. The overlapping patterns wanted to change shape. He allowed the pull to do as it would and opened his eyes to see the result. Instead of the two triangle based ones, it was a spiral, starting at the small pupil and looping out anticlockwise, creating the optical illusion of three rings. It was dizzying to observe. He chose not to mention it and extinguished the crimson flame pattern. Itachi was finishing his talk with Sasuke as Naruto paid attention again.

"Sasuke, when your sight gets too bad to see properly anyone, tell Naruto. Naruto, when he tells you this, come back to this world and tell the crow with Shisui's eye that I gave you to find me. One I get the message, I'll go to the Uchiha Hideout and wait for you there. Then we'll see if our eyes match. I say the transplant most likely will take for us both. Naruto, same goes for when your sight becomes too deteriorated to tolerate, bring Satsuki with you and I'll do the operation."

"You actually know how?" Naruto asked amused.

Itachi gently swatted his head. "I spent years learning the medical techniques for eye transplantation and if Obito can do it well enough for himself, I can for you, me and Sasuke. Now I best be on my way, Kisame will get suspicious if I am gone too long." Naruto caught his wrist.

"Hold it."

Itachi looked back at him. Curiosity glittered in his fully matured Sharingan and he responded with a level tone. "What is it Naruto? Is there something you want?"

Naruto just stared him hardly in the eyes, stormy blue vs red and black.

"You know what I want. The Contract. I have found being without it caused a problem or two whilst taking care of my fellow Dragon Slayers." Naruto explained, alluding to what he was talking about. "And I need the seals as well."

Itachi thought it over carefully, weighing the pros and cons until he reached a decision, pulling his wrist from Naruto's grasp.

"Alright."

From a cloud of white smoke between his hands, Itachi produced a large, two foot long scroll and laid it on the ground, opening it up. Naruto bit his left thumb with his sharpened canines and signed his name under Itachi's, making a handprint of blood next to it. Itachi rolled the scroll back up and sent it back to where he got it from.

"Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey and Ram. Those are the seals. Anything else?"

Naruto tilted his head. "Did you name that crow you gave me?"

"No, she was barely old enough to survive the transplant and be healthy. You get to name her, and I'd suggest you hawk her up soon. Now is the _anything_ more?"

This time Naruto shook his head. "Nothing I can think off. Thank you, Itachi."

"Likewise."

And with that he took off.

Sasuke turned to Naruto. He didn't look angry anymore. He just looked mournful.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Naruto let his Mangekyō burn his retinas with regret for a second.

"It wasn't my place. I had already killed countless Uchiha, better not to make it one more, I have enough blood on my hands as it is. Now let's go, I've had enough of this world to last me 50 lifetimes."

They met up with Hinata, Naruko, Tsukiko and Kushina at the outskirts of the village and were about to leave when Fuu dropped in with Yugito. "I wanna come too!"

' _ **I swear she gets more childish every day!**_ ' The Yin fox groaned.

' _Patience Kurami, soon she'll be asleep and you can go back to chatting with Ten Tails._ '

' _ **As if!**_ '

Everyone joined hands and Naruto drew on the Magatama on the cord around his neck, on its power over time and space. It floated a little off his chest and glowed with golden light. ' _Here goes absolutely nothing._ '

The group disintegrated into a shower of gold energy that was wrenched through a swirling portal. The wormhole sent them tumbling through space and time. It was immensely vast, infinite. But Naruto had since figured out how to navigate it.

If one thought of the space-time continuum as a tree, each world was a branch and the numerous versions of it were leaves on that branch. The Shinobi World was one such branch, Earthland was another. So to reach Earthland safely, Naruto had to guide them across the distance between branches by returning to the trunk and going out along the branch.

' _Whatever you guys do, don't distract me, or we'll end up in some world even I don't know where._ ' He sent to his group.

Once they were on the correct branch, Naruto just had to find the leaf he marked, like he'd marked their version of the Shinobi World. A marked world glowed with white light, the others glowed gold. At the end of the branch, he found the marked world. Leaning toward the leaf, they went tumbling into it. A golden tunnel opened up around them and they were falling.

"You can let go now, we're entering Earthland!" He shouted to the others over the rushing sound. Everyone separated except Naruto and Tsukiko who he held to his chest.

They fell through another swirling wormhole above the Fairy Tail Guild Hall and the Dragon Slayer yelled,

"Heads up!"

All but two of them crashed into a heap in the ground. Naruto skated down the roof on his heels and made a smooth landing beside the pile of people. Kushina mumbled a question everyone wanted to know the answer to.

"How do you land on your feet? It's like a hundred miles an hour ya know!"

Naruto smirked as Tsukiko snuggled into his chest. "I got mad skills."

' _Please never say that again 'To_ ' Naruko mentally grunted, getting up off her face.

' _I'll think about it 'Ko._ ' He sent back as he transferred Tsuki so her chin was resting on his shoulder and his upper hand was supporting her back, the other arm's forearm was supporting her lower body while she tried to wrap her legs around his middle. They didn't quite reach all the way round and Naruto found it cute.

"OK, who's ready to get sensory overload?"

"Wait, what now?" Sasuke questioned. Not even waiting for his response, Naruto sparta-kicked the doors open with his foot and returned to his previous footing. The whole hall turned and looked at them. A shout came from the left as Naruto used the hand that had previously been resting on his little sister's back to swat away a flaming punch.

"Naruto, fight me!"

The white haired Jinchūriki sighed and then he kicked his assailant away with an air of dismissal. Decided to paraphrase from Itachi, he turned to face the rosette who had taken a swing at him, using his two tomoe Sharingan to add to the effect.

"Natsu… I'm not going to entertain you right now… cool your jets."

A black haired boy with no clothes save his long boxers chortled at the predicament the Son of Igneel found himself in. "Man, you just got your ass handed to you flame-brain!"

Naruto turned unamused to the boy who made the comment, who was about one year older than Natsu. Said boy received the same treatment.

"Gray… your clothes…"

Gray yelped and ran off in search of his missing garments. A slightly more subdued Natsu got up and had a blinding smile radiating from his little face. "Where ya been?"

Naruto walked to an empty table and responded on the way over as people went back to their business. "Places, I had to sort some stuff out and, yes, it took about 4 months to do it."

The group he had returned with sat down with him as the Master came over with the redhead sword girl, Erza, to talk to them.

"Hey kiddo, found your way back then?" He looked everyone, especially Kushina, up and down. "And who is this lovely lady?"

Naruto reactivated his Sharingan and cast a quick Genjutsu of Kushina forcibly removing the old pervert's unmentionables with a single eye, using the other to cast another on his mother to calm her down before she caused a scene. "This 'lovely lady' is my mother and she has an interesting habit of castrating perverts. It would be a shame if you turned out to be one wouldn't it Master?"

"Uh *gulp* n-no idea what you're t-talking about m-my boy."

The Dragon Slayer let his Uchiha blood bring out a cold demeanor for a moment as he reveled in the fear he had created.

"That gulp wasn't nearly audible enough but I'll take what I can get."

Seeing that he had effectively scared the man to death, Naruto lightened up. "Just messing with you Old Man, but be careful, Mother doesn't like perverts." He casually passed it off while letting his red and black eyes fade. Erza broke the tension.

"I hope Natsu isn't being too much hassle for you Naruto, I've been trying to rein him in during your absence." He waved his hand.

"On the contrary, it's amusing to watch him try to ambush me like that. The only time I will really object is if I'm not in the mood or I'm holding my little sister, like I was then and still am." Erza nodded in understanding. "Besides, if he wants to make the most of his childhood, let him, I know you and I both wish we could of done the same."

Catching the nod to her less than ideal childhood in the Tower of Heaven, something he had come to learn about when she taught him the Requip, the redhead took Natsu by the arm and gently pulled him away. "You make a good point."

"Oh, by the way, Requip comes in really useful, thank you for teaching me."

"You're welcome Naruto." Erza smiled. "I see you have a sword, care to spar later?"

"Sure." Naruto replied, uncharacteristically cheerfully, feeling the familiar weight of Shisui's tanto hanging from his belt. "Once I get my family and friends sorted, I'll come find you."

When she walked away with Natsu, Yugito leaned across the table and took a jab at Naruto. "Got an admirer Whiskers?"

"Why, wishing you had competition?" He countered. "Sorry, you're stuck with me princess."

Blushing at his allusion to what happened at the hotel, Yugito jabbed at him again.

"Well, that's one out of a thousand you won't have to beat off with a stick."

"Don't remind me." Naruto grumbled and everyone laughed at his expense. Naruko broke the ice.

"So what do you do for fun around here?"

An evil smirk crept into Naruto's face and almost everyone at the table looked to be scared out of their wits. Shadows shrouded his upper face and all that was visible were twin tomoe eyes, glinting maliciously. A terrifying growl of laughter came from his throat and Kushina couldn't have been more glad that Tsukiko had fallen asleep.

"Many things, dear twin of mine, there are many things that can be construed as fun around here, hehe!"

' _Kuramos, what have I unleashed?_ '

Even the fox sounded afraid.

' _ **Something straight out of hell, Naruko, something straight out of hell.**_ '

Suffice to say, no one envied Natsu when _someone_ kicked him around the yard like a ragdoll in sparring. Or Gray, when he found himself in a cold jail cell for the night for indecent exposure. Or Elfman, when he was implanted in the ceiling of the Guild Hall during a brawl. Or Mirajane, whose hair had been dyed lime green, neon orange, and florescent pink in thirds. Or Lisanna, when _someone_ made her trip and kiss Natsu (more like full on snog him but oh well) and took a picture. Or when the same _someone_ made hundreds, no, thousands of copies of said picture and used a giant cloud of smoke to wallpaper the whole hall. Or Macao, who found him subjected to a giant sticker on his back reading 'KICK ME LIKE I KILLED YOUR GRANDMOTHER AND LEFT HER BODY IN A RIVER' with an equally prominent arrow pointing to his rear and someone did exactly that.

Something straight out of hell indeed, and it was set loose on a massive pranking spree that resulted in all but murder. And despite the master and the newcomers being the only ones untouched, everyone learnt the same lesson.

Never give the newly dubbed 'Sharingan Devil' motivation to 'have fun'. Ever. Again.

Naruko learnt something else as well.

The Sharingan was the ultimate pranking tool. And her twin had absolutely no qualms about abusing it to pull off an unholy plethora practical jokes. All in the space of 5 hours.

' _ **And this is why you stay on your twin's good side Naruko, it's exponentially safer than being on the receiving end of those… tortures from the depths of hell.**_ '

Timeskip - 8 Months

Naruto looked down at his sleeping baby sister with a soft smile as he stroked her small cheek lovingly. She was so adorable it made him want to squeal. He'd never get tired of looking on that angelic face as she slept in his lap, so at peace and so content. Her short hair made her look like a female version of a young him and those blue eyes were perfect mirrors of his old eyes and Naruko's. Her whisker marks were thin grooves at the edge of her face, oh so much cuter than the ones he shared with his twin. She was so small, about the size of Atsuko, if a little smaller. To think she was only 4 years old. She could have been 2 and he would have believed it. Her little eyes blinked open and she looked up at him with the most irresistible look. His smile actually hurt it was so wide. Just like a baby, she took hold of his finger. He used his other hand and held her chin up a little higher between his thumb and index finger, brushing her lips as she giggled.

"Tsuki…"

"..." Her adorably puzzled look drove him crazy.

"Never grow up, okay?"

"Oh-kay!" The way she drew out the word while trying to say it correctly was just to die for. He released her chin and Tsukiko started rubbing her head against his chest, her childish delight intoxicating. He thought of Naruko, who he had seen Minato slit her throat in the war. She had died because of him.

Tears began to well in his eyes as his Sharingan activated. The two tomoe eyes shone red in the darkness of the night as he sat on the wooden porch of the house, his hand tousled in Tsuki's hair. His eyes span a few times as they changed back into the eyes that would slowly progress towards darkness.

Tsukiko looked up at him again. Her perfect voice carried to his ears like a herald.

"Big Brother, your eyes!"

He looked down at the new headband he had received when he got back to Cloud after he had given his to his twin. His free left hand came up to the left side of his face and he looked back at his toddler sister through the parting between his middle finger and the one on the other side of it to his index finger, the scaled hand snapping the metal of the headband in two.

' _Mangekyō Sharingan…_ '

Her childishly excited face was all he cared to see as he thought sadly.

' _Will the day come when you too possess these cursed eyes? I hope you never have to experience such pain, I love you too much to let you go through that. My precious little sister, I will never let anyone hurt you._ '

As she settled down again, Naruto let his Mangekyō faded into his slitted stormy blue eyes. They sat a moment longer on the porch of the house that had been finished a mere 2 days ago.

Using, in Naruto's opinion abusing, her authority as his mother, Kushina had refused to let him continually bunk around other members' homes full-time and after a full month of him, Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata, Natsu, Yugito and Fuu doing jobs nonstop, they raised enough money to build a house. During that month, Kushina, Yugito and Sasuke, the Uchiha and Two Tails Jinchūriki only part-time, designed a house in the style of the one Sasuke, Itachi and their parent had lived in, with a few personal touches. Then, like a women on a mission, Kushina organised the whole thing with Makarov's directions and recommendations of contractors and such. Then, 7 months later, they had a house and being the stubborn mother she was, insisted (ordered) that Natsu, Wendy, Atsuko, Yugito, Sasuke, Hinata and Fuu live with them.

In each bedroom there were two people as a general rule but there were exceptions. Sasuke and Natsu shared a room, originally much to Sasuke's bemusement, Yugito and Fuu had their own, Hinata, Wendy and Atsuko were in the same room, and the three children of Kushina herself were sharing too, although simply because Tsukiko and Naruko kept sneaking into Naruto's. Eventually the redhead decided, having being told by her eldest about the psychic bond between the twins, and Tsukiko absolutely adoring Naruto, that they could share, given Tsukiko was still only 4 and given the twins couldn't keep… certain things… from each other even if they tried, so they might as well.

As a precautionary rule, one from her shinobi years, Kushina made sure there was a 'senior' child in each room. Those 'senior' children were Sasuke, with Natsu, Yugito, with Fuu, Hinata, with the female Dragon Slayers, and the twins, to watch over Tsukiko. All in all, Naruto thought his mother was pretty happy with the arrangements.

But all the family business didn't stop her from enforcing basic, albeit gentle for the younger children, training. For the younger kids minus Tsuki, being Natsu, Wendy, Atsuko, she handed them over to Naruto, since he was the only one who knew how to teach Dragon Slayer Magic and its uses to them. Needless to say, he was scared to all hell at first at the prospect of teaching youngsters.

For the ones that could use chakra, except Tsukiko again, she drilled them into the ground. Chakra control had its own period in the day. Seriously! But to his great fortune, Naruto seemed to have evaded the absolutely abysmal chakra control of the Uzumaki, something Naruko complained about and called 'so totally unfair'. In fact, only Naruto, Sasuke and Hinata were having little trouble with chakra control, the Jinchūriki were horrible at it and were mercilessly forced to perform nasty exercises, like sticking a coating of leaves to themselves while running on water, evading objects. Oh Naruto loved being a natural at chakra control now! It meant he could freely mock the others.

Snapping out of his reminiscing, Naruto heard a call from inside the house he'd wanted to hear all his life.

"Kids! Bed!"

"Coming Mom!" Was the collective response of the 6 still up. The younger kids had gone to bed at their respective bedtimes. Natsu, being 10, went to bed at 8:30, much to his disgruntlement, Wendy, age 6, went to bed at 7, Atsuko at 6:30, as did Tsukiko, although she had a cute habit of falling asleep in either Naruto or Naruko's laps and not going to bed. The older kids, minus Fuu, went to be at 10:15, the mint green haired girl going at 9:45. And oh boy was Kushina strict about bedtimes. If they were late by just 10 minutes, she'd give them a fair spanking. It wasn't fun to endure that.

Naruto wrapped Tsukiko in his arms gently and lifted her up, carrying her indoors. The fiery but kind-hearted mother was waiting at the stairs, counted each child going up so that none of them tried to play sneaky and stay up longer. Natsu had tried the previous night. He learnt his lesson.

Passing the table, Naruto laid his broken headband on it. As her eldest passed her, Kushina ruffled his long white hair. He playfully glared at her, given he found anyone playing with his hair annoying.

"Straight to bed, and no all-nighters, I'll know if you do."

Kushina had the useful ability to tell a person's state of body, and emotional state if it was one of her children, but only to a degree. If they were asleep soundly, their chakra and/or magic would flow softly and slowly unless they were awake or having a bad dream and in both cases, she would come up and deal with the situation.

He'd reached the top of the stairs when she called up softly. "Are you going to consider cutting your hair?"

"Not until it becomes a hindrance." He called back. "I like it long, makes me feel more free, untamed."

"Oh I'd say you're tamed." Kushina cheekily smiled. "Tsuki has you wrapped around her little finger."

"True enough." No point in denying it. He _was_ wrapped around his youngest sister's little finger. How could he not be? How could one possibly ever say no to such an absolutely cute face?

He woke the next day, finding himself in a familiar position. Naruto was lying on his futon on his side, opposite him, their foreheads touching, was Naruko, soundly asleep and snuggled between them was Tsukiko. A moment later Naruko sleepily opened her eyes. ' _Mornin' 'To._ '

' _Wakey wakey sleepyhead. Time to rejoin the land of the living._ ' He replied, taking advantage of the fact Tsukiko had snuggled up to Naruko to sit up without disturbing her, tucking his blanket over her to make sure she stayed warm. Smiling warmly, Naruko sat up, holding their four year old sister to her chest and wrapping her up in the blankets like a baby. Naruto made sure the window was open and set about getting Itachi's crow out his stomach.

Given there was nothing in his stomach at the moment to vomit up, the only thing coming out would be the crow. So, using his Dragon Slayer ability to control many of his otherwise unconscious actions, he forcefully contracted his stomach muscles, waking the crow up. Naruko looked a bit worried. "What are you doing?"

Taking a breath, Naruto felt the crow go farther up. "Getting… Itachi's crow… out of me…"

With one last disgusting retch, the young crow popped its head out his mouth, sleepily blinking. On its own, it made the final push out of Naruto's body and to the outside world, flying around out the window to get the saliva all out of its feathers and then came back in, landing on Naruto's shoulder. ' _Damn, I am so glad I was not conscious when the girl flew down my throat._ '

' _That looked a little nasty._ ' Naruko sent worriedly.

' _Eh, other than my mouth tasting like crow feathers, it's not so bad. At least I'm not like Orochimaru, keeping a sword down my throat, or other stuff._ '

' _Fair play._ ' Naruko conceded. Then she noticed the Sharingan in the left eye of the crow. "Wait, is that…"

"Shisui's eye?" Naruto finished. "Yeah, it is, this little crow has had it since he died. She really is a good girl. Speaking of her though, she hasn't been named so how about… Kara? You like that name girl?" The crow cawed happily and nuzzled his neck. "Kara it is then."

Closing the window, Naruto got dressed quickly, switching to his high collared shirt and shinobi pants in 10 seconds with Requip. After that, he brought out his dirty clothes and on the way down to the excellent smelling breakfast, dumped his previous outfit in the wash. He wasn't weird like Natsu, wearing the same clothes day in, day out. Kushina was still trying to house train him. Looking up from her cooking, Kushina noticed Kara on his shoulder.

"Is that one of Itachi's?"

Naruto shook his head, sitting down at the table in the traditional kneeling/sitting position. "No, Kara is one of my summons, although she's been in my stomach for me last 8 years, in a sleep state where she doesn't age. And yes she has Shisui's left eye."

Finishing up breakfast and setting it all on the low table, Kushina let the excitable crow, that was flying around the kitchen like she was on a sugar rush, her land on the back of her hand. Kara patiently sat on her hand, waiting for Kushina to be done examining her. "She looks barely a year old. And most non-summon crows only live 7 to 8. Little Kara is definitely a summon if she looks this cute after being in your stomach for the best of 8 and a half years."

Kara flew back off and nestled in Naruto's hair. "Don't worry about mess Mom, Kara is a good girl. She even flew out the window to get rid of the saliva all over her instead of in our room, then she came straight back in."

"That's good but do you know what she eats?"

"Itachi told me ages ago that crows are omnivorous so she'll take bird feed, mice, invertebrates, Kara's not too picky. Better stick with bird feed so she doesn't creep out the girls though, in the house at least."

At that moment, Natsu came thundering down the stairs with a cry of 'Food!'. Before he could reach the table, Sasuke had appeared and caught him by the collar whilst sighing. When Natsu turned around to protest, he received a poke to the forehead. "Natsu, at mealtimes, we wait for the others before we start. And we sit at the table, not gulp everything down and bolt for the Guild Hall."

"Mikoto really has rubbed off on you Sasuke." Kushina smiled. "Whenever I came round while we were children, she'd do the exact same thing to me."

"I can imagine." Naruto muttered. A quick smack to the back of his head sorted him out. Fuu came buzzing in on her wings and Naruto flicked his wrist, a small serpent of crimson flames snapping at the Jinchūriki's attempt to steal a piece of toast, the only modern item of food on the table. "Manners Fuu, I learnt my lesson already this morning."

Fuu just pouted.

"Not gonna work, Tsukiko is the only one who can make that work on me now."

' _That's probably true._ ' Naruko's voice echoed in his head when she walked in with Tsukiko, still sleepy, head over her sister's shoulder like a baby. "She just doesn't want to wake up."

Kushina frowned. "That's funny. I haven't carried her anywhere since she learnt to walk. I think you twins are spoiling her."

"She's too cute to say no to." Naruto interjected. "You try saying no to her, I've told an angry Fire Dragon to do one without fear and one-v-oned him but I can't say no to my little sister."

The other girls came down and joined them on the floor cushions around the traditional table as Naruko snorted. "Please, you went into a forbidden state and were unconscious the whole fight, not to mention it was Atlas who nearly brought him down and Igneel who finished it. You had bare nothing to do with it."

"Cheeky brat, at least I can take down a Tailed Beast unlike Duck-Butt over there, he flopped against the Cloak and I've lost count of how many times he's been 'logged' in his life." Naruto bit back.

Sasuke had the classic depressed, shadowed look. "I mistook Itachi for a log _one time_ people! And it was Substitution anyway!"

"Naruko, could you pass the rice? And how does that make it any better Sasuke? A log is a log." Naruko passed the bow with rice in to him and he took a decent spoonful. It seemed to all the shinobi children that Kushina loved to do traditional food as well as modern. This morning it was a traditional breakfast and surprisingly, Natsu didn't object to the more exotic foods like tsukemono (pickles), nori (dried seasoned seaweed), natto (fermented soy beans), kobachi (small side dishes which usually consisted of vegetables), and green salad, he just ate. Although he hadn't grasped how to use chopsticks so Yugito was entertaining herself by trying to teach him to hold them correctly, with little success.

Kushina smiled whilst watching the children banter over breakfast. A knock sounded on the door. Naruto stood up and went to the door, sensing the magical presence beyond it. It was Makarov. Opening the door, he saw the short man on the winding pavement that led down to Magnolia. **(AN: basically the house is where Natsu's is and the house is a traditional Japanese one, with all the traditional stuff inside, that's why they have the low table, the floor cushions and sleep on futons. I'm going for the Japanese look on their house 'cause I think it works, feel free to disagree)**

The old man smiled widely. "Howdy! Thought I'd drop by and see how you are all settling in to your new home. Plus, it looks real nice."

"Why thank you Master, Mother was always fond of our world's traditional styles and this whole place was her design, although Sasuke and Yugito helped. Please, come in, stay a while." Naruto stood to the side and allowed the Master to enter the threshold.

"Very kind of you my boy. I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"Not really." He said over his shoulder, leading the old man into the dining room, we're just having breakfast. _Bit of advice, don't make any bad comments about Mother's food, she gets fired up faster than Natsu hearing that Gray is better than him._ " He whispered the last part.

" _Got it._ " Makarov whispered back. "Hello youngsters! How's your morning?"

"Is way too early." Sasuke groaned, Natsu's snoring having kept him up late. Yugito ruffled his hair annoyingly.

"Deal with it, you can get a coffee at the guild. It's a great morning Master, although some of us are still asleep." Tsukiko had sleepily curled up against Naruto's side when he sat back down, and he took over the task Naruko had previously had, feeding the little blonde.

Fuu was hyper, almost bouncing up off her cushion but for Kushina pulling her back down. "Can't wait!"

"We noticed." Sasuke grunted. "You literally tried to grab a piece of toast and fly off except Naruto shot you down."

"Hm, more like nearly got burnt and shut down Duck-Butt." Naruto absently murmured, taking a bite of toast.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!" The Uchiha shouted, crying anime tears.

"Peace and quiet." The snowy haired Dragon Slayer deadpanned. "Maybe little more self-control too, you're behaving with all the tolerance of a Fire Dragon. And I've known two, so that's saying something."

…..

"Big Brother!"

He heard the little footfalls on the soft surface of the grass and turned around to see his little sister running across the garden as fast as her tiny legs would carry her. Kneeling so he was at her level, in actuality he was an inch or two still above her height, he wrapped his arms around the little blonde girl and she returned the hug enthusiastically. When they pulled back, he answered.

"Yes Little Sister?"

"Big Sis Yugi said you can do pwetty flame! Please show me pwetty flame!"

Taking a look back at the house, Naruto saw Yugito on the porch with an amused smile on her face. He rolled his eyes at her and turned back to his small sibling.

"Okay, I'll show you the pretty flame. Don't touch it, whatever you do."

"Oh-kay!"

Opening his left hand, a dancing crimson flame caught alight in his palm. The color was so deep and the flickering was so graceful in the fresh morning breeze, it mesmerised the little girl, making her stare at it dreamily. She didn't make any indication she wanted to touch it, Tsukiko seemed content to stare at it. "Ohhh, pwetty."

When Naruto let it go out, his little sister snapped back to reality. A pout appeared on her face. "Aw. Me liked pwetty flame."

He let out a small laugh at that. So cute.

"Tell you what, do you want to be able to do pretty stuff like that?" Her face lit up like Natsu given sugar.

"Ye!"

' _ **Hang on a bloody minute, you're not gonna try to…**_ ' Naruto ignored Kurami and beckoned Tsuki closer. His hand, so big to the 4 year old, reached out and he made a small jabbing motion with his middle and index fingers, along with his thumb and pressed them gently into her stomach, just below the ribcage, where his Sharingan perceived the greatest and most condensed magic was in any wizard's body he had seen in Earthland. This, he had come to the understanding, was where a person's magical container resided. Then he attempted his most difficult magic manipulation yet.

Summoning his magic, he let the pure dragon slaying essence flow, holding it back and preventing it from undergoing the elemental change in nature and becoming his hellfire. The purest form of Dragon Slayer Magic, without an element, just pure magic. It flowed through his fingers and past the cloth of Tsukiko's little flower kimono and into the dormant magical container there, taking root. The unused container came alive with the spiritual energy, taking what he channeled into it and drawing in more pure Ethernano from the atmosphere, transforming it into Dragon Slayer Magic inside. He removed his fingers and was surprised and happy to sense the magic energy turning into Dragon Slayer Magic of its own accord. Now, hopefully, the element would be decided by Tsuki's body itself, like a chakra affinity.

The small girl blinked and wrapped her arms around her stomach.

"Big Brother, me feel full. But me had breakfast already!"

He smiled and patted her head.

"What does it feel like?"

"Uhhh…" The 4 year old struggled for the words to describe the feeling from her limited vocabulary. "Like… hot…"

"Okay, that's good. Now try pulling some of that 'hot' into your hand."

Tsukiko followed his instructions and, after a good several dozen tries, her magic took form. It was no longer pure energy but it had form, an element to which it belonged and, in a sense, an identity. Naruto was shocked by the form it took and, while having never seen it before, knew what it was. He knew what Dragon Slayer Magic had manifested in his little sister.

Beautiful flames danced around Tsukiko's little hand. But they weren't the usual color of fire, not orange-red and black like Atlas' magic had been, nor crimson like his had become. The flames burned a warm, soft and absolutely hypnotising sapphire. 6 words escaped Naruto's lips.

"Amazing." He breathed. "Blue Flame Dragon Slayer Magic."

 **AN: That's a wrap. For the curious, the method through which Naruto gave Tsukiko Dragon Slayer Magic is the skill Altas gave him last chapter, and the same as what happened to him when he got his own, although more refined and perfected.**

 **And with that, the Naruto Canon is out of the window from there on. Fairy Tail Canon has yet to start so expect some backstory in this one until then.**

 **Now I move on to an irritation that has pervaded me since day one. To be honest, I've been sitting on this for the whole year and a bit I've been writing this story. Flaming. I accept constructive criticism and the like, but I have had enough of plain haters reporting the story and leaving anonymous, not to mention insulting, reviews. I will be blunt. All flaming will be deleted from now on and I will not tolerate blatent disrespect for my work, given I am giving up my free time, my energy and a massive amount of time I could be sleeping to write this story** _ **for you all**_ **.**

 **Moving on, last chapter someone, a guest reviewer, asked why Naruto did not use Susanoo or other Mangekyō abilities. The answer is very simple, elementary in fact. Every Mangekyō is different, they unlock powers gradually or rapidly depending on the owner and fundamentally have different powers. At present, Naruto does not possess Susanoo, simply because his eyes do not have the potential for it. He doesn't have it, in layman's terms.**

 **See ya next time, sorry for ranting.**


	22. Teaching and War

"Since when could you give out Dragon Slayer Magic like it's some kind of birthday present?" Yugito inquired.

Naruto just smiled. "Since 8 months ago, when Naruko kicked my ass. To stop me being stupid, she forcibly viewed all of my memories through our twin telepathy. When she got the end of Atlas training me, he appeared. He described it as his spirit being bound to me but it took a lot of strength to appear like he did, all of the strength he'd gathered from the day he died to when Naruko knocked me off my pedestal. He told me some things and taught me how to do that. It slipped my mind amongst everything else but I really wanted to try it. Atlas tried to test it on me but it failed because he was too sick and he botched it, giving me his magic directly since he couldn't stop it undergoing elemental transformation like I did. If he could of done it right, I'd be a Fourth Generation Dragon Slayer like Tsuki is now instead of a First Generation."

' _Damn right I kicked your ass! And I see you improving a lot, so the pedestal is gone too._ '

"Just how many generations are there then?" Kushina asked.

Naruto shrugged. "Officially? 3. The First, that are like me, Second who are artificial, their powers are granted by a Dragon Lacrima, and the Third, who are First Generation Dragon Slayers with Lacrimas implanted to enhance them. The unofficial Fourth Generation that I just made the first of can only be created by a First Generation Dragon Slayer. It brings some good benefits too, like a person getting a magic that actually meant for them." A bit of disgust crept into his voice. "Personally, the Second and Third Generation Dragon Slayers make me sick. I hate the idea of needing to be partially or completely artificial just to be 'better' than a First Generation. If I ever run into either of those two generations, I'm going to beat them into the ground to show them they aren't better than me because of some Lacrima."

"Moving on." Naruko interjected before Naruto got fired up. "You said there's no elemental transformation when you give a person the magic, so hypothetically, yes I know big words, if you did that to another person, would they get a different element than any flame variant?"

Thinking about it for a moment, the First Generation Dragon Slayer answered his twin's question. "Most likely. The element a Fourth Generation Dragon Slayer awakens is entirely based on them, I don't have any influence over it. Tsuki only got Blue Flame because she's similar to me, naturally leaned towards fire."

"Cool, 'cause I wanna try it!" He was not expecting that. Naruko really just dropped a bomb.

"Are you serious? You better not be messing with me 'Ko, 'cause I can't reverse it once I've done it." Naruko glared at him, letting her thoughts answer his question.

' _As serious as grave robbing is. And I say that knowing full well you dug up Satsuki's body and have it in a scroll which you gave to Kara._ '

' _Okay, calm down, I'll do it._ '

Repeating the process he'd done to Tsukiko, Naruto drew his magic into his hand. Crimson hellfire nearly ignited around his hand before he halted it there, preventing the elemental transformation from occurring. A turquoise aura shrouded his hand. As payback for her little jab about Satsuki, instead of being gentle, he slammed his palm into Naruko's stomach, knocking the wind out of her a bit.

' _Turnabout is fair play you cheeky brat._ '

With the procedure done, Naruko stood up and Naruto felt her digging through his memories of training. ' _What are you doing Naruko?_ '

' _Getting a head start._ ' She sent back. On her first try, Naruko summoned her new magic, using Naruto's own memories as a basis. Playing with shape manipulation had an interesting effect. Razor sharp claws of pale blue ice froze around her hands like gloves, fully dexterous.

"And we have an Ice Queen." Naruto clapped sarcastically. "Ice Dragon Slayer Magic. You done poking around in my memories yet Sis?"

"Nope." She replied, looking at one of his earlier memories of training, one she found quite humerous. Wait, that memory was when he learnt…

' _Don't you even dare! I swear if you do I will…_ '

"Ice Dragon Roar!"

A foot thick beam of freezing magic burst from Naruko's mouth, striking him in the chest and knocking him over. Groaning, he rolled over, feeling constricted around his torso. Naruto looked down at the problem and found a shell of ice frozen solid around his chest. That was it! Crimson flames ignited all over his body and melted the ice off in about 8 seconds. "I told you not to Roar me!"

"Sorry!" Naruko was clutching her sides as she shook with laughter.

"Clearly you're not! In that case, Hellfire Dragon Roar!"

To show just how much of an noob Naruko was, Naruto unleashed a Roar three times the size of Naruko's. Crimson flames sent the younger twin sprawling, some minor scorches on her skin and her clothes singed.

"And for the record, I held that one back so it didn't actually burn you."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry! It was just a silly joke, I didn't know you would take it so badly." Naruko was tearing up a bit when she realised it wasn't funny. She had felt the power behind the Roar Naruto had so easily spat at her, and it was frightening. It could have easily left her with second degree burns, if not third but he had made sure to manipulate the flames to just be blunt impact at the last moment. What was more, the flames had curved around and turned soft and lukewarm, cushioning her fall. He had incredible control.

His arms wrapped around her and pulled her close.

' _Just don't mess around, I've badly burned Natsu and even dislocated his wrist just in a spar because I didn't know my strength well enough. As a Dragon Slayer, you have to learn to manage your strength and magic carefully. Just from that Roar of yours, I can tell you're on a higher level to the others I have to teach but you're still not my level. With time, you will be able to equal me, and not to boast, but I am the strongest Dragon Slayer of my generation._ '

' _ **I thought that asshole Thanator and the others were in the same generation as you brat.**_ ' Kuramos grunted.

' _No, he and the others in the higher group were chosen 6 years before my group were. Catala told me about it while I was learning Dragon Force. Why do you think they were so far ahead of me?_ '

' _ **So you're admitting that they are stronger than you. Nice to see you gained some humility fleshbag.**_ ' Kurami commented.

Releasing his twin, Naruto changed the subject. "Okay, minor altercation aside, who else want to give being a Dragon Slayer a whirl?"

All the hands went up. Kushina, Yugito, Sasuke, Hinata, Fuu. Well damn, that made 6 Fourth Generation Dragon Slayers. Creating clones, they performed the process on each, the original Naruto doing Yugito's. Then they all tried their new magics out. After a few tries, everyone had it manifested.

Yugito had golden flames dancing around her hands, warm and full of light. Naruto named each one as he walked past them.

"Heavenly Flame."

Kushina had bubbling water gracefully sloshing about her fingers.

"Water."

Hinata had an amber light emanating from her hands, illuminating the ground.

"Amber."

Fuu had a hot liquid-like substance around her hands. It was a purplish blue orb around her hand with white bolts reaching out to the membrane from her palm.

"Plasma."

Lastly, Sasuke just had an orange glow emanating from his hand. Naruto stopped and looked at it. He couldn't quite grasp what it was.

"Okay, I'm probably going to regret say this Sasuke, but hit me."

"Don't have to tell me twice." Sasuke smiled at the prospect of getting a free shot in. Drawing his glowing fist back, he let Naruto have it with a blow to the chest. A shining orange marking was left behind by it, a stigmata. Five seconds later, the First Generation Dragon Slayer was found himself blasted violently away by the powerful detonation of the stigmata. The glow was gone from Sasuke's hand.

"Dammit, I liked this shirt!" Naruto shouted, pulling at the new hole in the torso area of his shirt. "Okay, yours is Explosion Sasuke, now watch what you blow up or you'll be missing a few teeth!"

"You said to hit you." The Uchiha shrugged.

"And as of right now, I resign the post of being the test dummy."

Naruto ran his hand through his long hair, using Requip to shed the damaged top, leaving himself topless. Now he would have to teach nine. Fun times. ' _Any ideas Kurami?_ '

' _ **Make them commune with their magic like you did to discover what you could use it for. Once they manage that, which should take a few sessions at least for the fast ones, take what you know from Natsu, Wendy, Atsuko, Spine, Catala and the dragons you've known to teach them. You think Old Man Sage knew how to reach all students right off the bat? No, he would spend years getting to know them, their personality, their strengths, their weaknesses, have the talented ones help the less talented and even help mere beginners.**_ '

' _You've gotten more tolerant these last few months. Something change?_ '

' _ **You did, Naruto. You've become a better teacher, a better man. You've finally taken your mistakes and fixed them properly and learned from them, applying that knowledge to help others and not just yourself. As loath as I am to admit it, you've become more like Indra, more… stable, at peace. Your other two personalities haven't had much cause to act up and even then the episodes have been nominal.**_ '

' _Thank you, for helping me make that change._ '

Getting back to the training ahead, Naruto called the others. "Natsu! Wendy! Atsuko! Could you please get down here?"

Moments later, the three came out the house. With everyone assembled, he began the lesson.

"Alright, given we have some noob Dragon Slayers, who have no idea how to use their new magic, we're going to be doing something that's not combat oriented or skill oriented, yet."

Natsu groaned when he said not combat oriented.

"I heard that Natsu. Anyway, what we are going to be doing, is communing with our dragon nature, to find out the possible applications of our magic. This is something I learned under the Poison Dragon, Velena and it got me to where I am today.'

Listening up, the group followed Naruto's instructions as he gave them.

"What you must do is first sit in a position which you find comfortable, but alert. Close your eyes. Find calm. Find inner peace. To find inner peace is to quiet your mind. Let go of all thoughts, don't cling to them. Your worries, your concerns, your problems… let them all fall away. Letting go is the first and most essential step. This took me weeks to achieve, given my mind was like a storm of emotion. Having Kurami occasionally mocking me didn't help either but you won't have these problems. Matatabi, Chomei, Kuramos, please try to do the same, this works as a calming exercise too. But if you don't want to, please don't disturb Yugito, Fuu and Naruko."

Quieting, Naruto sat too and did as he had instructed. Now, with Dragon so prominent, he could simply ask the personality to what his magic was for.

' _Dragon._ '

' _ **Yes?**_ '

' _Show me again, the power of hellfire._ '

The familiar vision came.

 _Gigantic crimson flames raged on in the wasteland, burning everything to ash. An offending magic came at the source, and the flames laying waste to the land rose up and formed into the visage of a dragon, its wings taking the brunt of the attack. On the ground was a wounded bird. The flames descended on it and the injuries healed, letting the bird fly free._

' _ **Hellfire is merciless, it takes everything from you. It takes your emotions, burning them as the fuel. The weaker the emotions, the faster they burn. It takes your will, to give itself purpose. It takes your humanity, so that you can possess the might of dragons. And unless you find an anchor for your humanity, you will lose yourself.**_

' _ **But as recompense for all it demands, it can become an impenetrable shield for the weak, a fount of healing for the injured, a path of freedom for the wielder.**_

' _ **Never lose sight of your path.  
Beware your power, the Hellfire Dragon's wrath.**_'

Opening his eyes, he saw the others attempting to let go of their thoughts. To help them, he quoted Velena. **(AN: and Yoda)**

"Don't _try_ to let go of your thoughts, instead, _do_ it. Do or do not. There is no try."

The only person who looked like they were making any headway was Hinata. She had a totally peaceful look on her face, not heeding anything. The wind on her face, the grass beneath her crossed feet, nothing phased her. For her benefit, he used his Dragon Telepathy to speak inside her head as not to disturb the others.

' _Now, look inward. Feel the magic, the power and the Amber, Hinata, feel the Amber. Feel it flowing through you, permeating your blood, energising you. But it's so much more than just power, so much more… it's alive. It's aware, it can feel. It can feel your emotions, it can feel your will, your intent. It's yours. Go on. Reach out. Touch it. See what it was given to you for, what its purpose for existing is._ '

He withdrew and let Hinata see her first vision. The first of many. As time went on and she did it more, more would be shown to her. This special form of meditation only allowed the Dragon Slayer to witness what they were capable of, what was within their reach at the expense of the moment. But, that wasn't to say that they couldn't achieve more, given time. If they didn't push their limits, they would never be more than they were. He knew that best of all.

Reentering his own state of inner peace, Naruto connected with his magic. But this wasn't the usual connection, it was something more. It ran deeper, flowed stronger. This was what he had been testing his own limits to reach.

Vibrant crimson scales formed around his eyes, and the iris turned the same flickering red as his flames, as if they were raging within them. More crimson scales formed on his arms, armoring him. Even more spread from the scar on his chest, fading into to his torso gradually. Slowly, strand by strand, his hair was drawn upwards and tossed about like flames flickering. Color bled from the roots, turning his hair the same majestic crimson as his flames, scales and draconic eyes. Hellfire leaked out of the small gaps between all of his scales, giving him a menacing look. With a deafening screech that made everyone open their eyes and stare, his leaked hellfire twisted upwards and manifested not one, not two, but _three_ dragon avatars.

The first was an enormous creature with looks that followed the usual characteristics of a dragon: a massive body, a pair of wings, four limbs with claws, and a tail. However, unlike most of the known dragons, its body was not covered with scales, but it seems to be entirely made of flames, giving him an overall impression of a burning skeleton. Atlas Flame.

The second was mastodonic, and had an entire upper body covered in round scales. Its lower body, specifically the chin, chest, stomach, inner tail, thighs, and arms, appeared to be rather smooth. The eyes were hollow and beady, and the head was round and blunt with four, large, elongated plates extending backward. The mouth was full of razor-sharp teeth, and, attached to its chin, was a protrusion that resembles an arrowhead. The large wings were feathery in appearance, akin to a bird's, and very similar to Grandeeney's. The scales disappeared at the end of its tail, which, in itself, ended in a stinger-esque shape. No one recognised this one.

The third enormous avatar was too like a bird, with only two limbs, toned, athletic legs. Bird-like wings were in the place of upper limbs and the dragon avatar had a long, smooth feathered tail and neck, leading to a feminine looking head, with two frills, like ears. This one too was unknown although Naruko and Tsukiko felt that, on some instinctive level, they did.

Naruto's eyes slowly opened and everyone saw the full effect of the change. Kuramos temporarily switched with Naruko to say his piece.

" **Damn son! Where'd you find that?** "

Looking over his changed body, Naruto knew what he had finally awakened.

" _ **It's about time.**_ " The change in his voice was unnerving to say the least. To Naruko, he sounded eerily similar to Atlas' voice, although only partially. His new voice was made up of four. There was the part that sounded like Atlas, another, smoother but far more ominous, a gentle, feminine dare she say, part too, then Naruto's actual voice.

"Uh, what is this?" Wendy asked timidly, disturbed by Naruto's unprecedented change.

" _ **This, is my True Dragon Force.**_ " Naruto answered, standing up.

"Not to contradict you or anything Naruto, but I've seen your Dragon Force and you didn't look like that." Yugito told him. He only shook his head.

" **That** _**wasn't even my Dragon Force. It was an incomplete, unstable and dangerous version of Atlas' early stage, induced Dragon Force. That's why I suffered so much backlash every time I used it. It was essentially the same as drinking poison that granted me a temporary, unstable Dragon Force that wasn't even mine. But once the positive effects wore off, I'd end up either severely vomiting, magically poisoned, spitting out blood from a massive amount of internal damage or all of the above. You have no idea how painful the backlash of that state was, it almost outweighed the pros I had during the time limit. Basically, unless I used Kurami's chakra to heal myself after I use it, I would be unable to even move for I don't even know how long.**_ "

Wondering if there were any side effects once he lost it, Naruto waited while the others got back on with their communions until it ran out. About 15 minutes later, the True Dragon Force faded and he found himself overwhelmingly exhausted.

' _Okay, note to self; True Dragon Force lasts about 15 minutes at present and unless I quit it early, it wipes me out._ '

' _ **Well it's an improvement over your previous option. No drawbacks other than you being completely drained. No internal damage, no magical poisoning, no paralysis, lasts longer, you've got it good with your new Dragon Force.**_ ' Kurami listed the perks of True Dragon Force.

' _Damn straight._ ' Naruto deadpanned. ' _I love True Dragon Force already._ '

' _ **Don't let Yugito hear you thinking that, she might get jealous.**_ '

' _And that Kurami, is why I have no intention of teaching them Dragon Telepathy until they have a good grasp on their new magics. Actually, I don't think I'm ever going to teach Natsu it, because he'd just be annoying._ '

Continuing his meditation, Naruto focused on drawing in Ethernano from the atmosphere to fill up his container. One could not teach if they were unable to perform said exercises themselves.

Over the next few days, everyone struggled to find their inner peace. The second to grasp theirs was Wendy. Her vision showed healing and only fighting to defend. Hinata's was much the same, although it was more of absorbing than outright healing, taking another's pain into herself then releasing it, the wounds healing being a side effect. Thankfully for Naruto, Grandeeney's focus had been healing and aiding others, so Wendy had no time to learn combat usage of her powers. That was what Naruto had to teach her.

After Wendy was Kushina, who found her powers to be supportive, absorbent and malleable. She could attack but without others to follow up, it would become milder and less easy to fight. Naruto could compare his hellfire to the absorbent and malleable aspects but manipulation of water was a concept he could not synthesise. His mother would simply have to learn her powers as she went along, given there was little basis on which Naruto could teach her. He had known a little of the Tidal Dragon Slayer, Gallalais, and how he used water but that was merely from watching and the one off spar.

Sasuke made his discovery a few days later, learning that his explosive touch could be applied to any part of his body and even be compressed and thrown to detonate away from his body. Additionally, the longer he made contact, and the more magic he put into the stigmata, the greater the detonation. To be short, a close combat fight with him would be suicide in a matter of months if one was not immune to fire. He now had quite the combo, a potential one shot kill magic if he didn't tone it down and the Sharingan to effectively utilise it. However, a new fighting style would be in order for him to make the maximum use of his magic. The basic idea? Minimum action, maximum effect.

Tsukiko and Yugito had theirs in the same day. Yugito's Heavenly Flame was a front-line one, much like Natsu's present usage of his Fire Dragon Slayer Magic. It was meant to inspire hope, embolden her allies and lead them unwaveringly. It would be a simple matter of teaching her the same basic spells and the base advanced spells, like Flame Dragon Fist and a spell with the same form as his Detonating Hell Edge or Natsu's Exploding Flame Blade that Naruto did not plan on teaching him anytime in the next two years. During the week he had spent with Igneel, Naruto had been shown and then recreated Natsu's three Flame Lotus spells in order for him to be able to teach the boy them. Needless to say, Natsu did not need anymore firepower than he already had at present.

Tsukiko's vision showed her flames to be a less direct version of Yugito's. Her style was all about speed, velocity, impact and precision. It would be easy enough to teach her, if she was as similar to himself as he believed. Hopefully as time went on and the pressure began really building she would awaken the Sharingan to aid her precision style. However, he would simply not allow her to awaken it like he did. To be brutally honest, Naruto would prefer she not have it than go through that.

Naruko's came next. Her ice was quite versatile, being capable of any shape or form physically possible so long as she had the energy. But she wasn't just limited to shape manipulation, no, she apparently had the ability to cool and even freeze whatever she touched. That could be very handy, pun unintended.

Atsuko got hers after that. It showed a stalwart defensive approach, but if push came to shove, she could deal earth shattering blows that could very well break bones and bruise flesh. Not so different from Earth Style to be honest.

Fuu's came a few hours after Atsuko's, and it was uncanny. Her plasma could burn, melt through things, be thrown and was quite dangerous overall.

Natsu grew frustrated that he was the last and was unable to calm his mind as a result. He needed to blow off steam. A few minutes of thinking and Naruto found a way to do that.

"Natsu, get up."

"Why?" The rosette was clearly frustrated.

"You're frustrated, getting angry and clearly are making no progress with this and you will continue to fail if you keep that frame of mind. You need to blow off steam, so attack me with everything you have."

Getting up, Natsu half-heartedly threw an easy punch. Naruto merely tilted his head to avoid it, then forcefully booted Natsu into one of the training logs. Wendy and Atsuko gasped at how harshly he had treated Natsu.

"What was that? Is that all you can do Natsu, is this the extent of your power? If that's the case, I fail to see why Igneel even trained you, much less why I should."

Now _that_ got him fired up.

"Shut the hell up!"

Snarling flame wrapped Natsu's hand and he violently swung at Naruto. Leaning to the right, Naruto let the blow go wide. Natsu swung again, this time with his left hand. Using both of his own, Naruto caught the punch and shoved it down. The Son of Igneel whirled around and lashed out with a kick that struck Naruto's bandaged arm and the elder Dragon Slayer shoved the blow down again. Another left hook met the same result. A right jab for Naruto's jaw was too caught and brought down.

Blow after blow, Naruto deflected, all the while not attacking once.

' _ **You do know that you are only making the kid more angry.**_ ' Kurami pointed out.

Diverting another punch, Naruto responded calmly. ' _Don't worry, I have a plan. While Natsu's flames may become more intense when he gets angrier, his technique all but evaporates, he loses all refinement, and he possesses no semblance of grace. I know full well the weakness in my style any opponent can exploit if they can last long enough to discover it, Naruko demonstrated it well._

' _If Natsu could cause me to perform, say a 30 step kata, I would leave myself completely open on my left side at step 27, even if I try not to. That is a weakness that could provide him with a chance to deal damage enough to cripple my counterattack so that he could push me on the defensive, which none of my styles really focus on except my Uchiha Interceptor and that is little more than practised counters unless I use the Sharingan._

' _In short, if he calms down enough, he'll easily notice that I'm basing my defense on my right forearm and catching his blows. If he figures that out, all he has to do is one totally different move to throw me off._ '

' _ **So in a nutshell, you're going to wait until he realises that he can't beat you if he fights angry and calms down enough to notice you weren't even attacking and he'll stop. Smart, for someone as stubborn as you.**_ '

' _Why thank you._ '

But Natsu simply would not calm down. He was so worked up he wasn't even thinking, just reacting.

Naruto couldn't do this all day. ' _Okay, enough's enough!_ ' His eyes shifted into red with the two tomoe and span, pulsing hard.

' _Sharingan!_ '

A sleep inducing Genjutsu washed over Natsu and he collapsed. Seeing that nothing would make the mood lift, Naruto ended the session there and then. He needed time to think. Leaving with a Body Flicker, he went down to the river. Scooping water with his left hand, Naruto washed his face then sat back against the bank. At that moment, Kurami spoke again.

' _ **Some would say you have a habit of using that particular Genjutsu to deal with people being objectionable.**_ '

Speaking out loud, Naruto responded, the stress clear in his voice. "I know, but it's one of the only two Genjutsu I can actually do given Itachi never had time to teach me more. If I had the option, I would have used a paralysis one then and calming one but I don't know paralysis. Besides, I prefer not to fight."

' _ **Then what about all those times you fought to get your point across?**_ '

He shook his head, palm to his forehead, smiling at Kurami's point. "Back then I was immature, narrow-minded and arrogant. I like to think I've grown up since those times. But I wanted to ask you something."

' _ **Quit playing the pronoun game so I have to keep telling you to go on, it's tiresome.**_ '

"Is there a way I can summon you like I do crows? Then you could stretch your legs."

' _ **Who knows, try it.**_ '

Performing the seal, Naruto bit his finger and placed his palm on the ground. Instead of specifying how many crows he wanted, he imagined Kurami but the size of a large dog. His chakra create the customary cloud and when it cleared, there was a three tailed fox with brown fur and dull red eyes.

" **This is… different.** " Kurami examined her body. " **Looks like the form I have is dependant on how much chakra you expend while summoning me.** "

…..

' _ **So… it's finally time.**_ '

' _Indeed it is Kurami. We're going to start the war this time, that gives us the upper hand. First Orochimaru, then Akatsuki, and finally Grandfather. This nightmare will end before it begins, and the balance will be in our favour hopefully._ ' Naruto checked his shuriken holsters and attached his pouches to his belt whilst conversing with Kurami.

Shisui's tanto was on his back, attached securely to the harness that held it, easy to draw with his left hand. Under the dark grey form-fitting vest, similar to the Leaf Anbu ones, was a dull mid-to-dark black undershirt, tucked into his identically colored shinobi pants and the bracers, of the same material and color as his vest. On the bracers were several seals, storing shuriken, kunai, senbon, more of all of the above with ninja wire attached and Demon Wind Shurikens. In all, there seven quick-access storage seals on each. His pants were bandaged at the bottoms but left a little baggy for flexibility and the white material wrapped until just above his ankles, going under his combat boots. Said combat boots had clasps instead of laces and were dull black and durable. It would take a lot to wear them out.

Pinned to his pants on his thighs by non-magnetic pins, the kind you found on jeans in Earthland, were two shuriken holsters. These contained more kunai and shuriken. Attached to his belt were two ninja pouches with smoke bombs, flash bombs, explosive kunai, explosive tag, sealing tags for use against possible Reanimations he might face, two coils of ninja wire, blood pills, soldier pills, a bomb ball and a shrapnel bomb. And some scrolls for storing stuff, just in case. One might consider this overkill but to Naruto, he was under equipped. Naruko was across the room, getting into a similar outfit but minus the copious weapons.

He went over the mental list, checking he had everything. He did. Zipping his pack, Naruto stepped out of his room and left the house, walking into the back yard where the others were beginning to gather. Once they were all there, Naruto counted them off. Yugito, Sasuke, Hinata, Naruko, Gaara, Bee, he'd taken the last two from the Shinobi World 3 months ago. Now, on the night of his and Naruko's sixteenth birthday, they were about to go back to the world he so disliked. Yugito took his hand as he started.

It was time. Naruto spoke and all the Jinchuuriki and their partners, in full battle mode, heard and acknowledged.

"My family, Tailed Beasts. We stand on the edge of war with Orochimaru, Akatsuki and Madara. The odds don't look all that good but that's not going to stop us. Why, because we have something they doesn't. Knowledge of the price should we fail, we know what happens if we fail. All life will cease and the Infinite Tsukiyomi will be cast. So in this fight, there can be no retreat, no failure. If we fail, this world shall end forever. So we will not fail! We are shinobi and we endure! Whether we asked to be or not… we are united and we will not lose this battle! We know the pain and dark truth of the world and we _will_ change it for the better! This war will be over before it even begins! Who's with me?!"

Everyone raised their fists in the air and Naruto smiled, his last until the war was over. Blackness swirled behind him and upon his back, in an pitch black sheath that formed an 'y' with the other sword's scabbard and gleaming, was his true blade, a transformation of all the 10 Truthseeker Orbs and Six Paths Sage Jutsu granted by Ten Tails, blessed by Shinigami to reap the soul of any living thing it dealt a mortal wound to. He was the Shinigami's Wrath and he was Death's will incarnate. The black blade meant judgement and it would be dealt. If that wasn't enough, the blade was sentient too. Its name was… Elderstar.

"Let's go to war."

 **AN: that's that. I apologise if this was a little fast paced and shorter than normal but I want to get to the Fairy Tail Canon.**

 **Now, I have had a conversation with a viewer among you who I will not name who suggested I write out what I have come to call the 'Fourth Great Ninja War, Take 2' arc for 4 to 5 chapters then leave off. I do think this is a good idea but I would like to know everyone else's opinions. Please do note, I have no intention of writing out the entire war.**

 **On another note, I don't think I've mentioned this in an author's note yet so I'm going to say it now, I have come to the decision to split this story into three parts, three different stories on the site. This is the 'prologue', the backstory if you will.**

 **The second is the Fairy Tail Canon, up until the 7 year time skip. I like to call it 'Part 1', but the official story name on the site will be '10 Tailed Dragon Slayer: Live or Die'. It starts when the war with Madara is over, at the moment it finishes actually, and when they return to Earthland, it's the beginning of the 'Battle of Fairy Tail' arc.**

 **The third and final part, 'Part 2' if you will, is the rest of Fairy Tail Canon up until the end of the war with Zeref (I know that part of the manga isn't don't yet but anyway) and the epilogue. It will be called '10 Tailed Dragon Slayer: Dragon God Solstice' on the site.**

 **And as a quick reminder to certain anonymous readers who like to post blatent messages in the reviews like 'you're a kid who knows nothing about writing' or 'kill yourself', if you do not like my work, I politely ask you; why are you even reading it? Consider that, learn some manners and maybe we can all act like adults here.**

 **Spells/Jutsu:**

 **Ice Dragon Claws - Hyōryū no Tsume**

 **Ice Dragon Roar - Hyōryū no Hōkō**

 **Hellfire Dragon Roar - Gokaryū no Hōkō**

 **Ice Dragon Slayer Magic - Kōri no Metsuryū Mahō**

 **Heavenly Flame Dragon Slayer Magic - Ten no Honō no Metsuryū Mahō**

 **Water Dragon Slayer Magic - Mizu no Metsuryū Mahō**

 **Amber Dragon Slayer Magic - Anbā no Metsuryū Mahō**

 **Plasma Dragon Slayer Magic - Purazuma no Metsuryū Mahō**

 **Explosion Dragon Slayer Magic - Bakuhatsu no Metsuryū Mahō**

 **True Dragon Force - Shin no Doragon Fōsu**

 **Summoning Jutsu - Kuchiyose no Jutsu**


	23. Divine

**AN: I know I usually do my authors notes at the end of the chapter, but I'm writing it here as a one off.**

 **This is the final chapter of Rebirth. Live Or Die is up already with a few chapters so you have a continuation.**

 **I will warn you now, I think Live Or Die is equally, if not more dark than this prologue but is darker in a more mature way and it makes more sense.**

 **Sadly, I will not be able to update as frequently, given pressure in my education is leaving me less time for writing, and writing 6-7 thousand words per chapter isn't an hour-job. I will still post chapters once I have checked them through but not as frequently, as previously stated.**

 **Lastly, I apologise that this chapter is not nearly as long as usual but I think it is an adequate ending for this part of the storyline, feel free to express your viewpoint** _ **politely**_ **.**

 **Enjoy**

… **..**

After two years, Orochimaru, Kabuto and all their lackeys were dealt with. For now, until they went after Akatsuki, they had all the time in the world. And Naruto knew what he would be doing in that time.

He had all he needed for it, the perfect opportunity too. Presently he and Yugito were on a date in a relatively quiet town back in Earthland, they had just left a restaurant after a night out. Now they were walking arm in arm to a hill while the moon rose to its peak. They were both lost in their thoughts.

 **Play - Jason Reeves - Save My Heart**

For the past 5 years, they had been dating and their relationship had been going smoothly. They very rarely fought and when they did, one of them, usually Yugito but just as often him, needed to yell. And it was always nothing major. Today was their fifth anniversary and Naruto was determined to make it a perfect night for Yugito. Unconsciously, his right arm's scales rippled in reaction to his happiness. For the evening, he had removed the bandages around it.

Reaching the top of the hill, the couple lay down on their backs and looked up at the stars, holding hands. Feeling a weight on his chest, Naruto looked down to see Yugito's hair, let free instead of being bound up, on it. Smiling even more, he asked, "Enjoying yourself my Fire Queen?"

Rubbing her head against his torso like a feline, she purred, "Definitely Hellboy. It's perfect."

'Hellboy' was yet another affectionate nickname Yugito called him by. It was one of her quite endearing mannerisms. Well, along with flirting that made him like a tomato and kissing him wherever and whenever she wanted to. Just like now. Her lips brushed his cheek and his left hand found her face, stroking it with his thumb. In a gesture of affection, Naruto tilted her chin up and kissed her softly on the lips. A purr vibrated her throat as she snuggled in closer.

Looking up at the starlit sky, the pair simply lay there, feeling like there was nothing in the world that could compare. And it was only going to get better. With an unspoken understanding passing between them, they stood up and huddled close together with the light of the moon illuminating them from one side. A smile appeared on both of their lips, soft and full of happiness, something they both had longed for for the longest time. Removing his right arm from around his blonde partner, Naruto reached into his pocket and his scaled hand closed around a small, dark blue box. One small box that contained the item that would changed and bind their lives forever.

Taking a small step back, Naruto brought the box out of his pocket and hid it by closing the scaled fingers. Secretly, the two Tailed Beasts were watching with glee and excitement. Gathering all his courage and setting his soul ablaze with love, Naruto began his small speech.

"You know, the one thing I'm the most glad of is that you have stuck with me, through the loneliness and the pain. With you, I've always been able to bear the weight of my suffering. You kept me together, stopped me from shattering long ago and still loved me after I left you behind. But for the last year I've had a question that lingers in the back of my mind all the time…"

Matatabi squealed. ' _ **Father's beard Yugito, he's gonna…**_ '

"Yugito Nii…" Dropping down on one knee, Naruto brought the box into her sight and opened it, revealing the contents. "Will you marry me?"

Within the box was a sparkling silver ring, with a coiling Chinese dragon using its jaws to house a deep magenta gem that sparkled in the moonlight. The perfect mix of red and blue. Yugito's hands rose to her mouth in surprise and delight. Knowing in her heart that her answer was right, she said the magic words that she had secretly dreamed of saying for years, ever since she was a little girl. After all, every girl dreamed of a guy proposing to them.

"I will."

Holding her right hand in his left, Naruto slid the ring onto her finger. It fitted perfectly, meant for her. Standing up again, he caught Yugito when she flung herself at him. Going with the motion of catching her, he slowly fell back onto the soft grass, silencing her giggling with another kiss.

Both female Tailed Beasts were squealing in the Jinchuuriki's minds, uncharacteristic for Kurami but completely expected of Matatabi. Secretly, the Yin Nine Tails loved romance and whenever Naruto read a romance novel, she would hijack his senses so she could read it too. Same thing when someone put on a love song. Her favourite was Cascada's 'Ready for Love'. Naruto, because he took on some of her traits as a Jinchuuriki, had adopted similar interests in music and literature in addition to his own.

To end their perfect evening, they skipped through time and space, arm in arm, back to the Ninja World. Landing back in their camp, they went to bed, not noticing Sasuke or his camera. Uchiha's had a sick sense of humour. But one thing that was always consistent was the fact that they did have an uncanny nack for getting blackmail material and if you were on their good side, you could get hold of it.

In the morning, Sasuke strolled into Naruto's tent while the First Generation Dragon Slayer was the only one in it. With a frightening smile on his face. One Naruto had seen very occasionally on Itachi's mug when he had much training *cough* torture *cough* planned.

"So, when's the wedding?"

Naruto choked on his drink of water when he heard the word. Swallowing it, he turned around, Sharingan activating. "If you've told Ryo and Ryuzaki… Hinata will never find your body."

Putting his hands in the air, Sasuke backed up a bit. "I haven't told anyone, and I won't but on one condition."

"Spit it out."

A gleam appeared in Sasuke's eyes. One he recognised from Satsuki.

"Tell me the details."

Naruto turned off his Sharingan and sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"Tell me why we're best friends again."

"You know you love me really."

"Only because you taught me to use the Sharingan properly."

"That's cold!"

"Sorry, that's Naruko's department."

' _Damn straight it is!_ '

"You all drive me mad."

' _Not much of a leap there bro._ '

' _Oh shut up!_ '

…..

" _Quit fidgeting._ " Sasuke muttered. " _And don't mess with your tie either._ "

" _I'm sorry, I didn't realise you knew everything about weddings. Besides, I'm the one getting married here._ " Naruto whispered back. His suit was an elegant black and white tuxedo. Sasuke was wearing a suit too, but not as grandiose as his. Right now they were waiting at the altar for the bride, specifically, Yugito. Subtly, a summoned Kuramos, who was the minister for the wedding, given Kurama had been there for Indra and Ashura's weddings, jabbed Naruto in the back with one of his tails. Sending a mental message, rhe orange fox spoke.

' _ **Stand up straight, focus on Yugito and know that you are making an unbreakable bond today. I'm a creature of emotion so I feel yours and I know for a fact Indra never flinched at his wedding. Sure he was nervous but with Ashura at his side and his lover coming down the aisle, he knew everything was fine and he had nothing to fear. As his reincarnation, I will not have you fidget like Ashura did on his own wedding day. Speaking of that day, it was comedy. I lost count of how many times Indra smacked Ashura around the head before his wife Kanna came up the aisle. Well, back then it was steps.**_ '

Composing himself, Naruto straightened his tie one last time and shook his head to the left, letting his long fringe cover his eye and about half of his face. He preferred it free. Releasing a burst of focused Lightning Chakra through his hair, he destroyed the tie holding his long spikes in a ponytail. So much better.

At long last, Yugito appeared at the end of the aisle. A sleeveless and strapless dress of magnificent white flowed from her, taking away his breath. Her hair was coiled at the back of her head, her skin was sparkling. In a word, she was perfection. With impossible grace, she _glided_ up the aisle, Naruko and Hinata as her bridesmaids.

Reaching the altar, Yugito turned to face her fiance. Smiles as bright as the sun, no brighter than the sun shone from their faces. Kuramos cleared his throat and began.

" **Normally, a minister would give insight about the couple, but having lived nearly 25,000 years, I gave up caring about that crap. Plus, I'm not the one who's sealed in either of them so it's not my problem.** "

Everyone laughed at how Kuramos was so dismissive of traditions and etiquette, even the summoned Tailed Beasts.

" **As I understand it, you two wrote your own vows, well that's several minutes and much effort I don't have to expend reciting them for you.** " Everyone laughed again. " **But in all seriousness, get this mumbo jumbo sorted so you can get down and dirty sooner.** " The couple blushed slightly at that. Naruto started as Sasuke gave him the rings.

"You have been my best friend, mentor, comrade, confidant and my greatest challenge. But most importantly, you are the love of my life and you make me happier than I could ever imagine and more loved than I ever thought possible... You have made me a better person, as our love for one another is reflected in the way I have come to live my life. I am truly blessed to be a part of your life, which as of today becomes our life together."

Sliding Yugito's ring onto her finger, he smiled at her.

"I promise to encourage your compassion, because that is what makes you unique and wonderful.

I promise to nurture your dreams, because through them your soul shines.

I promise to help shoulder our challenges, for there is nothing we cannot face if we stand together.

I promise to be your partner in all things, not possessing you, but working with you as a part of the whole.

Lastly, I promise to you perfect love and perfect trust, for one lifetime with you could never be enough.

This is my sacred vow to you, my equal in all things." Yugito finished, sliding the ring on his finger.

Kuramos blinked a couple times, then made another witty comment. " **Damn, those were very different vows. Well, at least you didn't start bawling like the husband of the last couple I saw get married.** "

Again, everyone laughed at his casual and light-hearted joke. Running a clawed forepaw through his orange fur, Kuramos wrapped up the ceremony.

" **I don't remember if there was anything that comes before this part but I don't see the point it delaying it any longer.**

" **Naruto Atlas Flame and Yugito Akari Nii, I now pronouce you husband and wife. You may get down and dirty, but first you must kiss the bride.** "

Shooting a playful glare at Kuramos Naruto muttered as he leaned towards his wife.

"Don't tell me what do you orange plushy."

With that, the newlyweds kissed in front of everyone, fireworks flying, not just sparks. It was heaven. On earth.

…..

 **Play - James Blunt - Goodbye My Lover**

Rain poured as Naruto looked sadly at the wooden cross in the earth, a grave marker, his single fist clenching. He'd lost his scale arm in a battle with Minato little over a year ago. Tears streaked his face as his gritted teeth ground against each other while he held in the screams of grief.

"I understand now… it took your death for me to realise it, but I get it now."

The rainstorm hailed down, having drenched him to the bone hours ago. He had stood here all day, silent. The name on the grave marker regarded him with sorrow, apologetic for the pain it caused him but unable to comfort him in any way.

"All this time I had it backwards. I thought that I could just change time, keep it alive, for all our lives. But I was a fool."

The dates on the wooden cross seemed to mock him. They spanned the grand total of 19 years, such a short life. Such a tragedy, to die just after such a big moment in their life, in making it happen. His stormy blue eyes were shattered, the slits like cuts, angry and narrow.

"I thought I could just change the past, but what I was stupid enough to not realise is that the past fights back. Time will happen, it is almost inescapable."

Bloody crimson flames began to rage chaotically, evaporating the falling droplets as they touch the manifest of hell. His sadness, his grief, his heartbreak, his anger, his **hate** were channeled and changed the red hellfire midnight black, snarling with intensity. They burned and burned, incinerating everything, consuming everything, **devouring** everything. Even space itself. The very space of the world burnt away to create a void around in from his hand, sucking droplets of rain in, never to be seen again.

"I can never again feel like I did for you, thst is certain."

His new power, born of of ultimate suffering and abandoning the illusion of controlling his life, letting his magic run rampant with his absolute darkness.

"I understand now."

Yet another change.

"Void Dragon Slayer Magic. I see… this is… the price of power… what it means to be Divine…"

His eyes became a void too, devoid of all colours and emotions but hate and pain, just pure _nothingness_.

"This is what it means to known complete dispair."

Lightning flashed. For a moment, within the split second of that flash that illuminated his body, his entire left side looked to be covered in scales that made half his body look like an all-devouring void.

"I am a Divine Dragon Slayer."

His declaration was heard only by the body buried underneath the cross. He walked away into the rain, fading from sight into the grey. The two word name on the cross was illuminated for a moment by another flash of lightning. The name that created the third Divine Dragon Slayer.

 _Yugito Nii_


End file.
